Children at Shoscombe School recently spent a whole week exploring poetry, thanks to an inspirational visit to the Egg Theatre in Bath.

The visit allowed children to watch Toby Thompson’s play ‘I Wish I Was a Mountain’, which introduced them to spoken-word poetry.

School Headteacher, Ruth Noall, said: “We had a fantastic time at the theatre! Toby’s performance gave the children a real insight into the power of words and how we can use different statements and expressions to convey meaning.

“Following our visit, the children also spent a few days taking part in workshops with poet Rebecca Tantony at the Guildhall in Bath.”

During the workshops, children explored two of the school’s core values of respect and empathy. Rebecca offered the opportunity to explore spoken word in a fun, accessible and dynamic way.

Ruth added: “We also accompanied Rebecca to a Slam Poetry Session at the Guildhall, where the children had the opportunity to see other children performing. The poems we created were performed at our Sharing Assembly at school recently, which was very well attended by parents.

“We wanted to make the most of our three days with Rebecca, so staff at Shoscombe also worked with parents to produce our own poems with Rebecca. It gave parents the opportunity to experience some of the activities that children had enjoyed throughout the week.

“This was a fantastic evening, where we ran a film club for children and served freshly-cooked curry after the workshop.”

Rebecca was funded through a Schools Without Walls project – an initiative aimed at embedding art in the school curriculum, run by 5x5x5=creativity and The Egg. The school’s Erasmus project funding also helped support this.

Shoscombe Church School is part of the Church Valley Schools Federation with St Julian’s School, Wellow. For further details, call: 01761 432479 or visit: www.church

valleyschoolsfederation.co.uk