Poetry, Prose, and Performance

Spring term has been an exciting term for English at Heronsgate. This term, our focus has been on fostering a love of reading through drama and performance. Through diverse literacy resources, engaging activities and community partnerships and visits, we’ve created a vibrant reading culture that extends beyond the classroom. 

Encouraging Reading in Early Years

At Heronsgate, we start instilling a love of reading in Early Years. We want to prioritise reading as a key life skill that will continue with the children to adulthood. We want to encourage parents to join in and be part of this as parents are great motivators and can be reading role models too. We invited parents in Reception to join with a stay and read where they were able to read with their children in a school setting. 

Performance and Poetry in Year 1

We aim to empower every student’s voice from the start of their school journey. Year 1 were involved in the book week poetry showcase where they learnt a poem to perform as a class; practising their speaking skills to be clear, loud and expressive. This also helps to foster their love of reading. This is a Year 1 class performing Michael Rosen’s ‘Don’t’. Through exposing them to high quality texts and poetry, they will build connections with authors and will continue to seek out and enjoy their work throughout their life. 

Poetry Workshopping in Year 4

During book week, Year 4 students were given the exciting opportunity to take part in a poetry workshop with poet Kate Wakeling. This allowed the children to be imaginative and express themselves with the guidance of a professional poet. They were able to develop confidence in their writing abilities and gain a deeper appreciation for poetry. The experience exposed the children to a brilliant author and empowered them to become skilled communicators and lifelong supporters of literature. 

Year 5 Performing “Twelfth Night” on Stage

This spring, some brilliant actors from Year 5 took to the stage at the Greenwich Theatre to perform their exciting interpretation of Twelfth Night as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival which takes place nationwide.  The children had been working hard since September to put on this exciting play; grappling with Shakespeare's language as well as learning to speak with confidence and work in a team. They received rave reviews from the parents who came to watch. Well done Year 5!