Poetry by Heart

For the first time at Great Marlow we are taking part in the national Poetry by Heart competition. The competition is open to all school students from KS2 to KS5, culminates in a final, in London in March for those who have been successful within their school and regionally.

All the competitors need do is learn and recite two poems of their own choice, from a collection of poems dating from 1000 BCE to the present day.

The initial public performance heat takes place in school, when a judging panel, using precise criteria, considers voice, accuracy, meaning and interpretation. 

For those studying GCSE Literature there is the opportunity to learn one of their GCSE poems and commit it to memory. Something which would be incredibly useful for the exam.  All students interested in participating are invited to join Mrs Legerton and Mrs Sadd in E3 on Wednesday lunchtimes. This is an opportunity for students of all ages to work on the same task and be marked against the same standards.lunchtime

In fact the competition has a category for staff too, although I expect that the wobbly recitation of Invictus I’m currently working on will be far exceeded by the students’ efforts.  

To reach a regional final, let alone the national one, would be an incredible achievement given our lack of experience in the competition, but we are confident the Great Marlow students will rise to this new challenge.