Great Howarth School’s Poetry By Heart Project: Inspiring a Love for Poetry

At Great Howarth School, the Poetry By Heart project, delivered in partnership with The Poetry Society, has been a transformative initiative for students with special educational needs (SEN). The project uses poetry as a medium to help pupils build confidence, express their emotions, and develop essential communication skills in a supportive and inclusive environment.

The project has inspired many students to discover a newfound love for poetry and literature, fostering a lifelong passion for reading and writing. Through tailored workshops led by poet Oliver James Lomax, students explored diverse styles of poetry, enabling them to articulate thoughts and feelings they previously struggled to express. Reflecting on the impact, Oliver remarked, “Many pupils performed poetry for the first time, and all wrote the most beautiful things, greatly improving their confidence. It ranks as one of my most powerful experiences in the classroom.”

The results of this collaboration have been remarkable. Four pupils received high commendations in the prestigious Poetry By Heart national poetry speaking competition, a recognition made even more meaningful by the scale of the event, which saw over 111,000 entries nationwide.

The success of this initiative was also highlighted in the school’s most recent Ofsted report, which praised the initiative for enhancing students’ communication skills and fostering a deep appreciation for literature. Ofsted noted, “The school has successfully engaged pupils with the joy of reading. Pupils benefit from a range of high-quality books and take part in daily reading sessions, talking enthusiastically about their reading.”

This project is part of a broader Horizon Group-wide literacy initiative, Space to Read, which ensures every young person has access to quality reading materials and a dedicated space to enjoy them. By embedding projects like Poetry By Heart within this strategy, Great Howarth School is helping students develop critical skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.

During the first term of the 2024/25 academic year the school also created The Great Howarth Poem; this is a poem that lists all the things that the students love about the school. This poem is very much the words of the young people with some inspiration and support from Oliver Lomax. The work is an honest and meaningful exploration of why school is important to the Great Howarth learners, as well as the stability and comfort it brings to their lives.

To celebrate all things ‘poetic’ Great Howarth School held a special event on October 24th, 2024. The beautiful words of the young people were showcased and honoured in this memorable occasion. Many young people read out their own beautiful poem, some poetry from past students was celebrated and Oliver Lomax offered everyone a wonderful reading of his own work and described what poetry means to him. Visitors to our school were hugely impressed by the talent and confidence of our young people.

Looking ahead, the school plans to expand the project across its network of schools, demonstrating how creative, collaborative approaches to education can profoundly impact even the most challenging lives. The Poetry By Heart project stands as a testament to the transformative power of literature and the resilience of young people when given the tools to succeed.

Gavin Hosford, Head Teacher at Great Howarth School said:

“The Poetry By Heart project has had a transformative impact on our pupils. Engaging with poetry has provided our students with a powerful outlet for self-expression, helping them articulate their thoughts and emotions in a creative and therapeutic way. Pupils have developed confidence, resilience, and a sense of achievement, while also building essential literacy skills. The profound effect of writing poetry has allowed our students to explore their inner worlds and find their voices, supporting their emotional growth and personal development.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sarah Leech who has led on this remarkable project, and also senior colleagues from across Horizon Care & Education who have been so supportive of our work. It would be remiss not to mention Oliver Lomax, of course – he has been an absolute inspiration to us all and a pleasure to work with, so we owe Oliver a huge debt of gratitude.”

Sarah Leech, Head of English at Great Howarth School said:

“I am so appreciative of this quite unique opportunity I have been given to support vulnerable young people in their poetic journeys. For me, poetry offers so much to so many. To misquote Coleridge, it is so much more than ‘the best words, in the best order’… it is vital to the wellbeing of our pupils. I sometimes feel as if verse and our school are inextricably linked, as if I cannot imagine one without the other. As a literature lover, I have always known that the best art often springs from the darkest of places and I truly believe that our children’s vulnerabilities are the reason they are such wonderful writers.

I am incredibly grateful to Oliver Lomax for having the empathy and vision to see what could be done at a school such as ours, and to Gavin Hosford and the staff of Great Howarth for making our school a place where the written word can flourish. However, it is the children with their fresh eyes and beautiful souls that have really made our school the focus of creative and poetic magic that we see today.”