PLAYING WITH WORDS

🕒 9:10am–9:55am UK time
(45 minutes)
💷 £55

A joyful and gentle introduction to poetry for younger learners.

Students will explore rhyme, rhythm and sound, hear a live reading of Bears Don’t Get Scared by Bloomsbury author Mark Grist, and create a kennings poem about his dog, Delilah. Delilah will even join us in the session to help us generate ideas.

They will then write short poems about themselves — building confidence, unlocking playful language, and celebrating how we can work well together in the classroom.

METAPHOR MISCHIEF

🕒 2:00pm-2.55pm UK time
(55 minutes)
💷 £65

A fun, fast-paced poetry session all about metaphor and imagination.

Mark will perform a new poem about language and what he thinks about when he writes. Then he’ll lead your students through a journey where they explore four types of metaphors as they construct their own unique and playful poems. 

Students will create bold comparisons, learn the importance of writing with originality and avoiding cliché, and go on to  craft poems that burst with creative energy.

Ticketholders also gain access to the live poetry performance for KS2/3.

THE ESCAPE PLAN

🕒 11:20am–12:15pm UK time (55 minutes)
💷 £65

This energetic, thought-provoking workshop explores how language can challenge ideas and break down barriers.

Mark will perform a rap about playing board games and card games (with a little competition for all classes to take part in).

 Then students will experiment with poetic structure, metaphor, and persuasive voice to craft bold pieces of writing that celebrate the people, places, and activities we turn to when we need to recover.

Ticketholders also gain access to the live poetry performance for KS2/3.

🕒 10am–10:30am UK time
(30 minutes)
💷 FREE to KS2/3 ticket-holder

On the morning of National Poetry Day Mark will deliver a special live-streamed poetry performance for Years 5–8, featuring poems and raps inspired by this year’s National Poetry Day theme: Play.

Expect age-appropriate fun, lots of playful poetic use of language and a live Q&A where Mark answers questions from classes via the chat.

Perfect for larger groups — this free session is available to all schools who’ve booked a KS2 or KS3 workshop ticket. You’re welcome to stream it into as many classrooms as you like.

All KS2 and KS3 ticketholders will receive the access code for the live-streamed performance via email 48 hours before National Poetry Day.