National Poetry Day

This is an initiative to promote poetry that started in 1994 and has had some high profile support. Prince Charles performed in the 2013 National Poetry Day, reading Dylan Thomas’ Fern Hill. On 2015 National Poetry Day poems were included on Blackpool Illuminations.

This year, the English Department at Reigate Grammar School created a pop-up poetry phenomenon. In the school playground an erstwhile innocent enough tree was corrupted into a ‘poetree’ for the day. Students were able to read poems hanging from the boughs, write their own lines and put then amongst the trees leaves or just sit in the Autumn sunshine discussing the merits of Wordsworth or Sassoon.

Head of English Rob Shaugnessey said “poetry talks from the soul about the human condition in every sense. It is great to have an opportunity to promote the rich modern and traditional culture of Poetry in the English language”

Headmaster Shaun Fenton said. “The students are off to Harry Potter studios tomorrow and are enjoying the poetree today – I am so pleased that the students at Reigate Grammar enjoy such a rich and varied time in their English lessons. It is the metaphysical poets that I remember most from school and it is good to see a bit of Donne still being celebrated by today’s teenagers”.