We love the power of words, so we've got a whole range of enjoyable and engaging Poetry workshops - for pupils of all ages to enjoy. Our workshops include in-person sessions, as well as live streamed workshops beamed straight into your classroom.

Year on year, our National Poetry Day programmes prove popular and successful right across the country – and we’ve a whole range of workshops to tie in with the 2022 theme of The Environment.

Longer workshops will also see pupils gaining experience in presentation skills as we support them in exploring the most effective ways to deliver their poems vocally. We can also provide a Poetry assembly to kick-start your poetry day in school! Our poetry workshops are available throughout the school year - and can be adapted to suit any theme or text, connecting literacy right across the curriculum. 

 National Poetry Day is the annual mass celebration on the first Thursday of October that encourages all to enjoy, discover and share poetry. This year, National Poetry Day takes place on the 6th October 2022, however our workshops are available all year round! 

Remember - every poem has to start somewhere. So start yours now – and get in touch today!

"The girls at Glendower LOVED the workshops! - they enjoyed the workshops immensely and thought the facilitator was fantastic! - they gained confidence around poetry, in addition to understanding the freedom attached to the concept of creating their own poem. We can’t wait to have you back!" Glendower Prep School

"A huge thank you and reiterate how much we all enjoyed today! You were so inspirational and enthusiastic and the girls (and staff) absolutely loved the workshops. I am so impressed by the poems that the girls created and can’t thank you enough for teaching them the importance of Black History - I am the Diversity and Inclusion lead and so it was just music to my ears!" Surbiton High School

Poetry Live - Join one of our team for live workshops, beamed straight to the classroom! (Streamed Workshop)

These workshops last up to an hour at a time – and, as they can lead to poems on any subject of your choice, they provide a fantastic way of linking poetry to other areas of the curriculum! After being introduced to one of our favourite poems and the subject of theirs, pupils will be guided through a drama activity designed to support them in developing their ideas. Experimenting with rhyme, rhythm and pace, they’ll then get the opportunity to choose how to populate their own verses, writing and performing them. 

“I wanted to email to thank you for today's inspiring (streamed) workshops. The pupils were all fully engaged through your scientific knowledge and your inclusive poetry collaboration which was both fun and successful. This term I run a poetry club for Year 5 and in today's session we used a random object generator to choose a subject about which to write a clerihew to follow up from your workshop." Clifton High School

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Jo for delivering such fantastic, fun and engaging (Poetry) sessions with our children.  Jo, you have such a warm, positive manner with the children and they were all engaged and inspired!   What a lovely way to end the term and this time learning remotely." Beechwood Prep

Environmental Celebrations! (primary & secondary)

After a quick assembly sharing our love of poetry – and an environment-themed poem, children participate in collaborative writing workshops (complete with drama-based workshops), usually for a year group at a time. And the outcome? A beautifully crafted poem, celebrating the environment, that’s unique to your school - and that will get its very first performance at a second, celebratory assembly for participating classes at the end of the day!

A Celebration in Rhyme (primary)

Working with up to 420 children to create and perform a School Poem in just one day!

A celebration in Rhyme has been developed to help celebrate the stories your pupils love in verse - by writing and performing a collaborative School Poem in just a single day! After a quick assembly sharing our love of poetry and issuing the overall challenge, children will participate in collaborative writing workshops, usually for a year group at a time. Using our unique “RunAround” methodology, KS2 classes will choose the themes and content, creating the lines as they go - with EYFS and KS1 providing the chorus. And the outcome? A beautifully crafted poem extolling the wonder of stories that’s unique to your school - and that will get its very first performance at a second, celebratory assembly at the end of the day!

"Thank you so much - it was lovely to work with you. The children all had a wonderful day. According to one of mine it was the BEST day EVER!" Braywood CE First School (Virtual Poetry workshops)

"All year groups really enjoyed the practical elements of the workshops and being able to discuss their favourite books, authors and characters. Children were able to recap on their knowledge of poetry and rhyming couplets as well as celebrating the joy of reading. Thank you very much!" A Celebration in Rhyme Poetry Workshop, St Mary & St John Catholic Primary School

Soundscape Poetry - The Sound of the Seasons - (primary & secondary)

Those pupils who claim they don’t like poetry will be writing furiously at the end of this magical poetry workshop. Realising the power of “sound”, they’ll design and perform two soundscapes set in the same environment – but one heard in summer and the other in winter. We’ll then guide them through a structure supporting them in crafting richly descriptive poems that tell both individual and collective stories in which the writers’ choices are central.  

Exploring (according to age): onomatopoeia, alliteration, descriptive writing, contrasts, rhythm, tone, pace.

Duration: Soundscape Poetry is suitable for up to 30 students at a time and requires a minimum of 60 minutes (although we always prefer longer!).

"Each class thoroughly enjoyed the poetry workshops and enjoyed taking an active role in order to create their ideas. Using drama to create an orchestra of sounds for our soundscape poems was fantastic to see and I know that we plan to use this strategy with the children again! Thank you for inspiring the children, so they could create such wonderful ideas!" (Amy Wynn, Windsor CP School)

"The immersion aspect was particularly effective in engaging the pupils and this led to high standards of written poetry. All teachers were full of praise for the workshops and were delighted with the pupil outcomes and engagement. We would love to arrange another visit for next year!" (Head of English, Immanuel and St Andrews School)

Planet Personification - (primary & secondary)

What if the Earth itself could bear witness to some of the environmental changes it has witnessed over the aeons – or even over just the last ten years? What would it have seen – or heard? How would it feel – and how would it relate to the creatures that inhabit it? What does it remember – and what would be its hopes (or fears) for the future? This highly imaginative and interactive workshop allows students to harvest the fruits of both their own and their classmates’ imaginations as they explore notions of empathy to construct some uniquely moving poetry.

Suitable for: EYFS – KS4 / P1 - S5

Exploring (according to age): empathy, personification, subtext, descriptive writing, contrasts, rhythm, tone, pace.

Duration: Suitable for up to 30 pupils at a time, Personification Poetry requires a minimum of 60 minutes (although we always prefer longer!).  

"The boys all stayed engaged and doing their actions. I did tell Jo at the end how impressed I was since it was virtual and I thought might be more limited. And the boys seem to have really taken to the story. Thanks thanks for giving our WBD a much needed lift!" The Hall School

The Poet-Tree – Poems that Grow and Change Before Your Eyes (primary & secondary)

Every tree starts as a seed – a seed that germinates and flourishes. And every poem starts with an idea – an idea that becomes visible to all as it finds its form in words. In both cases, the journey to fruition is one of organic change. And while neither topiarist nor poet can know what the final outcome will be until it’s there in all its glory, they both shape and prune their creations carefully. This enchanting workshop supports children and young people in appreciating how a poem evolves from the pen of its writer – and offers them scaffolds allowing ideas and words to take root and grow. We’ll provide them with stimuli to start the process off, enable them to think structurally as they begin to piece their poems together – and emphasise the role that “choice” plays in poetry as they select the words, phrases, similes, metaphors and personifications that best suit their needs

Suitable for: KS1 – KS3 / P2 - S3

Duration: 60minutes – half a day

Exploring (according to age): descriptive writing, connection-making, simile, metaphor, poetic structure.

 “The poems look amazing and I am really excited to send these home with the children who took part in the workshop. The day was a huge success and all of the pupils have commented how fantastic it was. Similarly, the teachers really enjoyed the CPD. Thank you again for such a wonderful experience.” (Mapledene School)

Shakespearean Clerihews – Character Choices - (primary & secondary)

In many of Shakespeare’s plays, the setting, or environment, plays a character in its own right. What would A Midsummer Night’s Dream be without the forest? And Macbeth would be a very different play indeed were it not for the brooding presence of Glamis Castle. This experiential workshop uses drama techniques to introduce students to a key environment from a play of your choice and explore how it both acts as character and helps drive the narrative – then supports them in crafting Clerihews, four-line, descriptive, rhyming poems, packed with descriptive language. 

Suitable for: KS2 – KS4 / P4 - S5

Duration: 60minutes – half a day

Exploring (according to age): Shakespeare’s plays, characters and characterisation, poetic structure.

"I’d like to say a huge thank you to Jackson for his delivery of our Shakespeare poetry workshop…the students have really enjoyed learning about Shakespeare in a very active way. All members of staff were very impressed with Jackson and have all commented on how they cannot wait to use some of the techniques to inform their future practice. I’m sure we will be looking to work with you again in the future.” (Creative Curriculum Leader, Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School)

Cinquains of Truth – People Whose Choices Shaped the World (primary & secondary)

Progress towards equality in a diverse world has been made possible by people who made choices that, while sometimes causing personal difficulties, led brighter futures for the rest of us. People like the Bristol Bus Strikers (1963), Tommie Smith (the 1968 Mexico Olympics) and Doreen Lawrence (1993 onwards). The often difficult choices taken by such people changed and shaped the world – and this inspiring workshop celebrates their deeds and legacies through poetry. After engaging pupils in a range of drama-based activities to explore the people and events in question, we’ll introduce them to poetic structures including clerihews and cinquains in which to commemorate their feats.

Suitable for: KS2 – KS4 / P4 - S5

Exploring (according to age): epic poetry, poetic structures, alliteration, contrasts, rhythm, tone, pace.

Duration: Standing up for Freedom is suitable for up to 30 students at a time and requires a minimum of 60 minutes (although we always prefer longer!).  

"Thank you so much for the fabulous workshop this morning. The children really engaged with it and seemed keen to share their ideas with you. It’s given us all lots of food for thought!” Clifton High School

 

Performance Poetry: Rhythm, Rhyme and Action - (primary)

A magical route to seeing how poems can be changed and transformed through choral speaking

Some of the best poems written have quite simple messages at their heart – while the power of those messages can be dramatically magnified when they are delivered chorally. This highly engaging workshop sees a group of disparate pupils magically transformed into a chorus, speaking and performing an age-appropriate verse.  

Suitable for: EYFS – KS1 / P3 - S3

Exploring: rhyme, rhythm, tone, pace, performance skills

Duration: Suitable for up to 30 pupils at a time, Performance Poetry requires a minimum of 30 minutes – but can also be combined with Collaborative Poetry for a one-hour session.

Messages from Space - (primary & secondary)

What do we know about Neptune? What’s the science of Saturn? And how is our understanding of Uranus? After a warm-up activity exploring some of the characteristics of a range of inhabitants of the universe (including stars and comets as well as planets and black holes), and armed with our FactFiles, pupils will mix metaphors, similes and astronomy as they create - and perform - their own Cosmic Clerihews! These are fun but descriptive four-line poems – and so perfectly suited for the descriptive rigour demanded by science. 

Suitable For: KS1 – KS4 / P1 - P7.

Exploring: characteristics of planets, stars, comets and black holes; authorial voice, rhythm, tone and pace.

Duration: Suitable for up to 30 pupils at a time, Messages from Space lasts from 1 to 2 hours, depending on how many classes we’re working with.

Collaborative Poetry - (primary & secondary)

Seeing at first hand how poems change at the hands of their poets Poetry is all about making choices – about words, about rhymes, about metres. This exciting workshop allows a whole class of EYFS or KS1 pupils to make choices together as they create and perform a collaborative class poem on a theme of your (or their) choice.

Suitable for: EYFS – KS1 / P1 - P3

Exploring: rhyme, rhythm, tone, pace, performance skills

Duration: Suitable for up to 30 pupils at a time, Collaborative Poetry requires a minimum of 30 minutes – but can also be combined with Performance Poetry for a one hour session.  

Get in touch

To find out more about our Poetry Workshops for Schools please contact us on 0151 708 8886 or email info@ascreatives.com.  

Find out more about National Poetry Day here

A decision to proclaim 21 March as World Poetry Day was adopted during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris in 1999. In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind. Find out more about World Poetry Day here