Programme Resource

Young City Poets (London) participants' area

Added 04 Dec 2018
Student writing in unusual place.jpg

Participant information

This area is for schools involved in the Young City Poets (London) project and downloads on this page are restricted to programme participants.

The project

Through a visit to an iconic London venue, including the Tower of London, the Barbican and St Paul's Cathedral, Young City Poets helps to inspire pupils to write poetry of their own.

Following the visit to a cultural venue, schools taking part in the project receive a workshop with a poet to help the pupils shape and develop their poems. Teachers taking part in the project reported improvements in their pupils' attitudes to writing and attainment.

This project is aimed at groups of reluctant writers in Years 5 to 9 from state schools with over 20% of pupils receiving free school meals.

If you have any questions please contact Francesca Bonafede

Schools will receive

  • A teacher CPD focusing on using memorable experiences to inspire reluctant writers
  • A memorable experience for students (this could involve a visit to a cultural venue or a socially distanced alternative)
  • An online or in person visit from a poet to work with the class on editing and performing their poems
  • Membership of the National Literacy Trust worth £100 with access to courses and resources to support literacy teaching in school
  • The opportunity for students to perform their poetry either online or in person
  • A chance for students to be published in an anthology.

We ask that..

  • You deliver at least five lessons with your class, using the venue workshop as inspiration for their poetry writing
  • You nominate and ensure the inclusion of your students in the performance and publishing opportunities
  • You and your students complete the post-project evaluation survey
  • You complete all visits and workshops by the end of spring term 2022

Timeline

  • Autumn term 2021: training sessions
  • January/February 2022: working with your allocated cultural venue
  • February/March 2022: a workshop from your allocated professional poet

Follow-up activities include the publication of an anthology of students' poetry, and performance opportunities

Our cultural partners

The resources

Downloads from the right hand (desktop) or lower (mobile) sections of this page.

Young City Poets Handbook

This resource has been created to support learning for pupils who are participating in the Young City Poets project. The resource includes a series of lessons that explore the different forms of poetry being taught as part of this project. It offers a range of activities that have been designed to develop pupils’ poetry writing skills and prepare them for a performance of their poems. It also includes a detailed list of poems that can be used as models throughout the project.

The handbook also includes a detailed overview of the workshop students will participate in with their allocated cultural venue.

This includes:

  • Some suggested pre-workshop activities
  • Homework tasks to complement each venue’s workshop.

Each workshop focuses on a different poetic form. Teachers, librarians and literacy coordinators can also use these resources to help plan future cultural visits, and to support the teaching and learning of poetry in their school.

Slides from the CPD

  • The CPD slides outline the structure of the project and its main aims and objectives of the project. They also highlight the main findings of the most recent Young City Poets evaluation report, which explains the effect of using a memorable experience and working with a real writer on young people’s attitudes to writing.

Useful resources and documents

Future Opportunities

All places for this programme are currently filled. We'll update this page with details when we are next looking for schools to participate.