Pleckgate pupils found plenty of time to rhyme on National Poetry Day. Poet Seamus Kelly held workshops with Years Seven, Eight and Nine pupils from Pleckgate and the senior teachers at the school, including Head Teacher Mr Cocker, also got involved by reading a piece of poetry during the sessions.
“It’s really important to celebrate days like National Poetry Day as it helps the pupils to value literature more,” said English teacher Ms Simms. “The pupils produced their own piece of poetry on ‘messages’ – which were excellent – while the senior teachers read poems which meant something to them.”
Mr Kelly, who is based in Rochdale, read some of his own poems but also got the pupils to talk about the made-up words used in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’ and also discuss the poem ‘Albert and the Lion.’
“It’s about inspiring the pupils and those at Pleckgate were inquisitive,” said Mr Kelly, who began his interest in poetry when he was given a book of poems aged nine. “The pupils listened and then asked questions, such as ‘how long does it take to write a poem?’ which can be any length of time!”
“Poetry is about emotions and the poems the pupils produced were of a high standard.”
