The
Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts’ PoetryQuest project is
supported by the MariaMarina Foundation and introduces 720 7-11 year
old children from across the UK to performance poetry. The charity
builds sustainble relationships between art venues across the country
and their local schools to help to give schools the means and motivation
to take their class into a new and inspiring environment. ach arts
venue works to engage 4 local schools and 2 classes of year 5/6
students from each school.
This
year PoetryQuest selected Francesca Beard and BREIS (plus Josh Solnick
shadowing) at Kings Place, London; Levi Tafari and Mandy Coe at Royal
Exchange Theatre, Manchester and our very own Dead Poets (Mark Grist and
MC Mixy) at Stamford Arts Centre, Lincolnshire.
PoetryQuest
aims to give 720 children, who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity,
the chance to work with a local performance space and professional
poets to develop their poetry writing and performance skills. A pupil
from The Royal Exchange Manchester said: “I feel now that I can do
anything, be anything and could be whoever I want to be”!
The
poets worked with the pupils over several weeks with the goals of
encouraging them to get to know and enjoy poetry writing and
performance, to help them feel comfortable in a performance space by
using writing and performance techniques to inspire and engage them both
in the venue and back at school and to encourage children to write and
perform their own poems. The wider aims of PoetryQuest are to impact
positively on children’s academic interest, attainment and creativity,
teaching the children skills which will build their confidence and
self-esteem and inspire them to visit the venue with their families
after the project has finished.
In
addition to working with the children, the poets also provided 24 Key
Stage 2 teachers with training in using poetry within the classroom to
inspire their class’s creativitywhile still meeting curriculum
targets.Teacher Will Power said: “Working with poets as part of The
Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts’ project ‘PoetryQuest’ I
saw how my pupils were energised and inspired to look at their lives in
a different way and to articulate this through rap and poetry”.
PoetryQuest
is a fantastic project - building community links between poets, venues
and schools, as well as giving children and teachers the opportunity to
be part of something very special indeed! We caught up with Mixy (Dead
Poets) after the event and he told us, "It was inspiring to work so
closely with the schools around our own area, and a great feeling to see
the high level of ability the students were able to achieve. A great
project, run by great people".
For further information on PoetryQuest please visit their website.
For further info on the Dead Poets please visit us at Book a Poet.
