We were delighted to accompany our students down to The Globe in London for the final of the Poetry By Heart competition. We were full of excitement for the day ahead as we departed from Durham train station.
The Globe is a tremendous building, and was described by Charlie, a Year 12 student, as ‘a massive microphone’. The acoustics are amazing, as they amplify the voices on stage to make the sound very powerful.
Sitting just behind us was our finalist Millie, who had enjoyed ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at The Globe the previous day, and a backstage tour as part of her winning entry to the Poetry by Heart competition.
Over the morning, students from Key Stages 2 and 3 performed, with voices from all over the UK. The performances were brilliant – we had no idea how the judges would choose between them. Some schools had chosen to interpret the poems with dances and costumes – a true celebration of poetry.
The atmosphere was relaxed and supportive. Spectators could stand in the pit to cheer performers on, which we did to watch the finalists in Millie’s age group. Seeing Millie come out onto the stage, with the beautiful and iconic canopy above her was amazing, and her performance was assured and powerful. Her delivery of ‘Your Attention Please’ by Peter Porter was perfect, and chillingly believable. Although we hope Millie will never be called on to perform this poem in real life, she would be the perfect voice to announce our imminent doom. We were all so impressed by Millie – her composure, her memory and her voice – congratulations to Millie for this incredible achievement and experience.
It took us ages to finish our applause for Millie, but we calmed down enough for a poetry reading by Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate, and Joseph Coelho, the Children’s Laureate. Both read from their collections, and their entertaining work shows why poetry is so much more than dry words written on a page.
Once the day was over, we strolled back through London, saw Big Ben and went to Leicester Square. We made it back to Durham where our normal lives continued, but changed forever by having a bit more Poetry in our Hearts.
