Poetry pleases pupils at Snettisham Primary

Pupils at Snettisham primary school have been using poetry to help get rid of any lockdown blues after the successful extension of a project that was first used during Mental Health Week.

The school's assistant headteacher and Year 5/6 teacher, Clare Enters, saw how much encouraging expression through poetry and spoken word performance made an impact on students, and so encouraged them to learn and perform a poem called Peer Pressure, by London-based hip-hop artist Karl Nova.

​One of the recordings, by 10-year-old William Mann, even got back to Nova, who sent a message of congratulation.

“The pupils have really enjoyed the experience,” said Louise Jackson, executive head teacher. “Talking about the meaning, thinking about the structures and vocabulary and then the challenge of memorizing and performing verses have really excited them.”

Snettisham Primary is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, which runs 11 schools in the borough.


Ms Jackson added: “We set up something called the Poetry Spine in the school, to make sure all pupils can discover and enjoy poetry suitable for their age group, so they’ve learnt all kinds of poems, traditional and modern, and seeing how it helps them to find their voice and express themselves can be quite moving.”