So I just visited my first school for the year (booking via the Poetry Society) in Olney and it was a delight. The school (Olney Middle) are having a fortnight of poetry workshops and readings and aim to release an anthology of work from the participating pupils at the end. I was lucky to be the very first visitor and I was amazed by how quickly they picked up the small skills I taught them, reinterpreted them in their own way and produced some fantastic work. I think they'll have a stunning anthology at the end of the fortnight...

The same night (26th February) I came home to a lovely package from Hillbrook School where I did work last year. Inside it were artistically embellished pieces of poetry based on the workshop I did and a note from the teacher, Pam (one of the finest kind - passionate about her pupils and their performance) to say thanks. These are the little things that elevate the experience of teaching in schools to supreme pleasure.

Some of my favourite lines from the Hillbrook pack:

morning; my dad is reading the news, my mum is making cereal

while I am sleeping

i am from pink... bright evenings with cold winds

red; big shiny fire-engine Chinese flags waving...

i smell fresh, like i was just cut open

i am black, like the night of the sky falling on us

the entire pack was a joy to read - poem after poem filled with great, but most importantly, personal images - images that no one but the pupils who wrote them could write. The only sad news is Pam tells me that the school has been put on special measures by OFSTED - very sad, but if the kids I worked with are anything to go by, they won't be for long.

Nii