Sarah Andrews
writes:
“I was
answers but now I am questions”
 |
Gina Marsland, year 6 class teacher from St Chad's, James Nash,
Jess Clynes, transition teacher from Abbey Grange,
Rachel Harkess, LitFest volunteer for classroom support |
'Skellig' is a
prize-winning nationally acclaimed book for pupils of around the age of the
final year at St Chad's primary academy in Weetwood. What makes it a unique book is that the main
character, Skellig, is never fully explained. He could be anything from a sick
angel to an ancient bird species. Author
David Almondchooses not to tell us exactly who or what Skellig
is, leaving it open to the reader's interpretation. And what interpretations we got!
Gina Marsland's
year 6 class proved they too loved the themes, some quite dark, and used their
reading to inspire some very thoughtful and original poetry of their own. The title line comes from the creative work
of just one of the 30 pupils in the class.
Others wrote very earnestly and perceptively, delivering their lines
with the aplomb of seasoned performers.
Which they weren't, at least not before this poetry workshops project
began. The opportunity to perform in
front of a large 250-strong audience – with peers, other teachers and parents -
can be daunting. This group stepped up
to the front with a calmness that belied the shaking paper and the slight
tremor in the voice. Eye contact. Tick.
Clear delivery. Tick. Apparent self-confidence. Tick.
As their class
teacher said, “They see poetry differently now, and it has helped them to
develop such self-confidence in their own writing and in their willingness to
share ideas about some potentially disturbing material, as well as perform to
an audience. Fabulous to have such a
lovely focus on creativity after the rigours of SATS”
It was also a
great draw for the lucky six students from the first year of fellow academy
trust secondary school Abbey Grange.
They were chosen to work with the St Chad's group not just because they
were former pupils so would feel comfortable working in their 'old' school, but
particularly because it was an enrichment opportunity to extend their creative
writing too. Supervised by transition
teacher Jess Clynes, she said that “They worked brilliantly with their slightly
younger peers and made superb role models.
We would love to offer the opportunity to more of our youngsters, and
host some sessions at Abbey Grange.“
These six Abbey
Grange youngsters will also be able to provide some supportive mentoring for
when the primary students make the big leap up to secondary school in
September. Yet another great spin-off
from this project, funded by the St Chad's Foundation.
James Nash, a
local published author/writer/poet, was commissioned by Headingley LitFest to
lead these poetry workshops and his years of teaching experience and coaching
showed from the focussed rehearsal to the calm demeanour of the young poets in
delivering their lines. As James said,
“They have upped their game, working so well with each other and with students
from 'the big school'. The camaraderie was obvious.”
We are also grateful
to the classroom support given the project by LitFest volunteer Rachel Harkess,
who warned us privately beforehand that we might need tissues because some of
the writing was so powerful. It was; we
waved our metaphorical hankies at the end as the applause rolled on.
Excerpts from
the poetry include:
All I want is
my halo again
Wings the
colour of all creatures
My dream
vanished with me
All I can feel
is shattered glass under my pale skin
My sense of
pride slammed the door behind itself
Darkness
crawling inside my head
The darkness
grows every day
I was born for
heaven, now I’m halfway to hell
Dry flaky skin
Teach me to
die, teach me to go
The cobwebs
climb higher
I was answers
but now I am questions.
Audience
comments:
I thought James
Nash had done excellent work with year 6 and year 7 – the respect which the
pupils showed to the subject matter - writing and reading poetry of a difficult
subject with great integrity. A really
worthwhile project. Parent
Fantastic
opportunity to gain a real understanding about the craft of poetry – lovely to
hear the poems being read. Parent
Great to be
involved and invited. Amazing poems and
performance – very mature and good for the primary and secondary school
children to work together. Parent
Creative poems
and well read. James Nash introduced the
event and encouraged the students. Very
enjoyable. Parent
Very interesting
to see what the children have been working on.
Nice to see two schools working together. Parent
This event was
really good. The children performed very
well, and they worked well as a group. I
enjoyed the performance so much I would liked to have heard them again. Well done year 6 and year 7. Parent
Great
event. The creative juices were certainly
flowing. Very inspirational. Great for the children to have the chance to
take part I n this event. They really
enjoyed it. Parent
Mature and
sophisticated poems. I did wonder if it
might be good to look at a more positive subject for the poems as the 'model'
work and subsequent student material.
Parent
Very
impressed. I think expression through
poetry is a beautiful thing. I thought
the children delivered their poetry very well.
Parent
Very interesting
and read very well. Parent
And perhaps the
final words should go to members of the year 6 class:
“I have learned
that you don't need to just write a poem – you can draft and improve it thirty
times!”
It's good t
share your work with other children in the school “Because they can magpie and
want to do what we're doing.”
Hannah holds an MA in
Creative Writing from Leeds Trinity University and is co-editor of the poetry
ezine Algebra of Owls. She won the Yorkshire Poetry Prize in the Poetry
Business Book and Pamphlet Competition when judged by Billy Collins. Her
first solo collection, Lodestone, was published by Stairwell Books in 2016
and Missing Miles is published June 2017 by Indigo Dreams Publishing as a
prize for being a winner in the Geoff Stevens Memorial Competition.
