All the children in the Chart Sutton school were encouraged to learn a poem including those in the kindergarten and reception classes, who performed as a class at the start of the day.
In the preceding weeks, children from Y1 to Y6 were asked to perform their poems to their classes; teachers selected three finalists from each class.
On competition day, poet Dan Simpson shared some of his own poems in front of the school and then spent the morning working with classes in the Prep and Pre-Prep schools.
They worked on writing group poems, some of which were performed during the competition.
Sally Barr, head of English and drama at Sutton Valence Prep School, said: “This is part of our push on poetry in school and ties in with our English work this term.
“The children do get very involved in reading and sharing poems in the build up to the Poetry Speaking Competition and even if they are not confident at performing on stage they get the opportunity to perform to their class which is great for building their confidence in public speaking.”
