About this day
This spring sees the return of our spectacular GCSE English in Action programme to the Midlands, featuring a fascinating line-up of presentations guaranteed to enthuse and inspire. During the day, students will hear from a range of expert and engaging speakers who will explore ways to enhance their creativity and writing skills, examine non-fiction texts across time, and tackle unseen poetry. The day will end on an unforgettable note with a reading from an award-winning poet. Students are guaranteed to leave brimming with essential insights and ideas!
Programme & speakers
Poetry reading Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate
Award-winning poet Simon Armitage will introduce and read selected works from his collections of poetry before taking questions from the audience.
About Simon Armitage
Simon Armitage is the current UK Poet Laureate and was elected Oxford Professor of Poetry (2015-2019). His numerous accolades include an Ivor Novello Award for song-writing in the BAFTA-winning film Feltham Sings and the 2018 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. He also writes extensively for television and radio, and is the author of two novels and the non-fiction bestsellers All Points North, Walking Home and Walking Away. His theatre works include The Last Days of Troy, performed at Shakespeare’s Globe, London, in 2014. He was appointed Professor of Poetry at Leeds University in 2017.
Poetry reading with John Agard John Agard, Poet
Multi-award-winning poet, children’s writer and playwright John Agard will introduce and read selected poems from his collections. He will discuss the meaning behind his words and answer questions from the audience.
About John Agard
A leading poet, children’s writer and playwright, John Agard is a unique, driving force of contemporary poetry. His poems combine acute social observation with a riotous imagination and his performances are thrilling and energetic. He has won a number of awards, including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.
Exploring non-fiction texts Marcello Giovanelli, Reader in Literary Linguistics, Aston University
In this talk, Marcello will explore a range of non-fiction texts and outline some tools with which students can analyse meanings and representations across a number of different text types.
About Dr Marcello Giovanelli
Dr Marcello Giovanelli is Reader in Literary Linguistics at Aston University, where he teaches and researches stylistics and cognitive poetics. He is Chair of Examiners for A-level English Language and Literature at a major awarding body.
Seeing the unseen Stuart Pryke
In this session, Stuart Pryke will offer a wealth of strategies to help ‘see’ unseen poetry, encouraging students to discover that thinking and writing about poetry without a bank of prepared interpretations can be an exciting and liberating experience.
About Stuart Pryke
Stuart Pryke is an English teacher and Teaching and Learning lead at a secondary school near Ipswich, Suffolk. He is the co-author of Ready to Teach: Macbeth and Ready to Teach: A Christmas Carol. Stuart also teaches as part of the Oak National Academy and presents at conferences nationwide.