Back in December, our Community Advocate for Wales, Faye Palmer, hosted Bishop Gore School’s very first Poetry Jam for Year 8—and what a brilliant way it was to bring her poetry lessons to life!
Faye was inspired by our Activity Ideas Generator tool. She was looking for a fun, memorable way to explore poetry with Year 8, and what better way than letting pupils create and perform their own poems? Her aim was for her class to enjoy poetry—not just study it.
A celebration of language and identity through poetry 🙌
Pupils could write solo or team up in small groups, and they had complete freedom to choose their topic—anything they felt passionate about. They were also encouraged to include their home languages in their poems, and the results were incredible. She heard powerful pieces in Arabic, Welsh, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, and more.
To make the event feel extra special, Faye invited some amazing guest judges: Dr Joanne Langley and Dr Giovanna Donzelli from Swansea University, local author Sonia Colavoce, and her school’s very own Mrs Burgum. They also had personal video messages sent in from Welsh rapper SageTodz and poet Karl Nova, which really helped to set the vibe and get everyone inspired!
How the Poetry Jam worked ✍️
Each Year 8 class held its own mini round, where pupils performed and voted for their favourite poem to go through to the final. The performances were thoughtful, funny, emotional, and above all, creative. It was especially great to see how many pupils took the opportunity to share their heritage and home languages with pride.
Faye said “It’s one of my top 3 teaching memories throughout the years! We’ve had so many lovely messages from parents and carers. One parent said how proud they were to hear their child speaking Turkish in school for the first time. Another emailed us to say how thankful they were for the chance to see their son shine in Arabic. Mohammed’s Arabic poem was a favourite with lots of pupils and earned him the Polyglot Poet award.”
M&S Mumbles sponsored the event and provided prizes for the award winners. The awards included:
- Crowned Poet – for the standout poem of the Jam
- Polyglot Poet – for creative use of languages
- Resilience Award – for perseverance and effort
- Above and Beyond Award – for going the extra mile
The judges were blown away by the talent and said they could really feel the excitement in the room. It was clear how much thought and passion had gone into every performance.
It wasn’t just about writing poems—it was about finding your voice, sharing your story, and supporting each other.
We LOVED hearing about the innovative use of our tool and how it helped Faye to inspire her class of Year 8’s to enjoy the powerful medium of poetry!