Mrs Bezzer (English Teacher)

Like many competitions and events during lockdown, Poetry By Heart looked a little different this year. Senior School students were invited to learn two poems entirely by heart and perform them, though not to a live audience on this occasion but rather to a camera lens. The quality of the entries and the thoughtfulness, passion and commitment that went into each and every one of the performances shone through clearly.

Mrs Redford (Head of Speech and Drama) kindly added her expertise to support the judging of the recitations and was equally impressed with the dedication shown by all the students involved. We both really enjoyed the judging process and want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the competition.

There was a real range of verse choices and we enjoyed discovering some ‘new’ poems, such as My father in a white space suit by Yehuda Amicahi and Russian Doll by Rachel Rooney, in amongst some old faithful such as Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky and Emily Bronte’s Spellbound.

Congratulations go to all the students who took up the challenge of Poetry By Heart in the midst of remote learning and a national lockdown, and a special mention goes to the winners whose entries have now been submitted to the Poetry By Heart team.

The BGS winners are:

Key Stage Three: Mahdiyah Meghji (Year 7)

Key Stage Four: Durotimi Bey (Year 10)

Key Stage Five: Grace Gaffey (Lower Sixth)

View the wonderful video entries HERE.