Posted By: Sam Ruddock, 08 March 2011
Back in January when the New Year had barely dawned and the days were still unbearably short, we retained our sanity by kicking off the Well Versed in-school sessions throughout Norfolk. First to go through the entire programme were a group of year 9 students at Northgate High School in Dereham.
Working with their teacher Kira Haslam, as well as poets Luke Wright and Helen Ivory, the students, spent two intensive days reading, discussing and writing their own poetry, all of which culminated in a showcase event performed to students from the rest of their year, teachers, and some very impressed Writers’ Centre Norwich staff.
Last month, Kira Haslam and Helen Ivory each gave their thoughts on the Well Versed experience, and today we’re delighted to be able to share a short film charting the showcase event at Northgate. Watch out for stunningly dramatic variations on Ross Sutherland’s ‘Trips to Spar’, amongst the clips.
What came over most strikingly from this showcase – and those that have followed it at Methwold High, Attleborough High, Avenue Junior and West Earlham Junior – is the sense that, often for the first time, students have been able to have fun with poetry. This engagement, coupled with the quality of work they have produced, seems to have been the winning combination that we are keen to replicate with the remaining schools.
