Caistor poets prepare for Slam Jam

The winners were Jack Newrick, Luke Cowdroy and Tasha Borrett, who will now go through to the local heat at De Aston School on May 5, with the winners going on to the final at Bishop Grosseteste in June.

“The judges were incredibly impressed by the quality of poetry, the range of themes covered and how inclusive it had proved to be,” said teacher Georgia Loryman.

“However, there could only be three winners, and they were clearly outstanding.”

Students began this journey with a workshop from Ash Dickinson, a performance poet, who introduced the genre, performed some of his own and got everyone to have a go at writing.

During last half term, all of year 9 read, watched and studied a range of poets, using this to stimulate their own original writing.

They honed their performances and held class heats to choose the best ones for the competition.

A panel of VIP judges were invited, including CYA Head Jeremy Newnham and Mr Maund the school’s former chair of Governors, and parents were welcome too.

“We have high hopes for the next round of the competition in May,” added Mrs Loryman.