Exploring Poetry

Posted at 12:11 pm on 7th January, 2020

GCSE Poetry Live Event

In December, Year 11 students visited the Palace Theatre, Manchester, for the GCSE Poetry Live event. 

The inspiring GCSE poetry event included live performances and insights from well-known poets Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, John Agard and many more.  

Prior to the event, Wellacre students were invited to hand out GCSE Poetry Live programmes to all visitors; they gladly accepted the task and represented the school perfectly!

The guest poets read their work from the current AQA anthology, explained their reasoning behind them and discussed how poems connect to and influence other poems. Students were also invited to quiz the poets on stage.

In other sessions, students also heard from Senior AQA Chief Examiners who provided vital information and insider tips for success on, for example, how to approach an unseen poem in exams and how to write effectively.

Miss Alex Flowers, Leader of KS4 English, said:

“The event is an invaluable opportunity for GCSE English Literature students.  Exploring poetry with the industry’s finest and taking part in exam preparation sessions will inspire them and help focus their revision and exam techniques.”

Student feedback included:

"I loved hearing the poets’ point-of-view of their poems."

"I enjoyed the poets that had fun and made it interesting." 

"The information was useful, as it may help me achieve higher than a seven and an eight grade."