Richmond School welcomed Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to the school last week to share his experiences and poetry and to answer students’ questions.
All GCSE English literature students study Simon Armitage’s poetry.
The visit involved all year 10 students along with those studying English language or literature in Year 12.
Several year 13 English students also returned for the event and managed to get a selfie with Simon afterwards.
Simon Armitage spoke about the experiences of being young, relationships with parents, doing things which may be disapproved of, and the need to feel different and define yourself.
In answer to a question from one students about what message he would like to share with young people through his poetry, he spoke of the power of language and the importance of expression.
Hannah Slater, Year 11 student, said: “You felt like you knew Mr Armitage personally. It was an intimate experience.”
As part of our lead up to this visit, students were invited to submit an entry to our poetry competition on the theme of Doorways.
Winner Ellie Hughes, Year 10, was presented with her prize by the poet.
