Calderdale schools invited to take part in West Yorkshire Poetry Week in mission to create a new generation of young poets

The National Literacy Trust, National Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin are setting out to inspire the next generation of young writers with the launch of West Yorkshire Poetry Week (20 – 24 March).

Primary and secondary schools across Calderdale are invited to take part in the exciting week-long programme of poetry activity.

Participating schools will receive a Poetry Week Toolkit as well as classroom resources to support ongoing activity and build a culture of writing for pleasure across the school.

The West Yorkshire Poetry Week aims to emphasise the joy and fun of poetry, and build the confidence and communication skills of participating children and young people taking part. It is hoped that they will also be inspired to explore careers in the creative industries having learned how writing can help unlock opportunities.

Schools will also be encouraged to enter their budding poets into a region-wide competition to appoint West Yorkshire’s first-ever Young Poet Laureates. The two young laureates, one in primary and one in secondary school, will be in post for a year once selected. They will have the opportunity to learn from and engage with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and Mayor Tracy Brabin in their duties and attend a number of key cultural events which they will be commissioned to write poems about.

National Poet Laureate Simon Armitage said: “Poetry is art, it’s fun or it’s serious; it’s a way of thinking about the world and a way of telling the world what it feels like to be human. The West Yorkshire Young Poet Laureate programme will give every student in the region a chance to explore ideas and learn how far language can take them in life.”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “I’m thrilled to launch this initiative alongside the esteemed Simon Armitage and cannot wait to hear the work of our brilliant young poets. It’s fantastic that so many will get an opportunity to boost their literacy skills and confidence throughout this important week.”