Lizzie Stuart, a Year 12 student at Wolverhampton Girls High School, joined pupils at the Aspen Way school to help out with a Key Stage 2 poetry challenge.
She shared tips and advice to help them enhance their final pieces and supported them as they prepared for their performances. She was then special guest at the school’s showcase afternoon, where she also performed her winning entry which saw her crowned Wolverhampton’s first Young Poet Laureate and talked to children about what the role entails.
Deputy Headteacher Laura Towle said: “Lizzie has been working with us since September, initially as a reading volunteer where she would listen to the children read once a week. When she was named Young Poet Laureate, she asked if there were any school poetry events she could get involved with.
“The children gained so much from this experience and we were thrilled to have such an accomplished young poet perform at our school.”
Lizzie said: “Being the first Young Poet Laureate for Wolverhampton means a great deal to me, as I have always been passionate about reading and creative writing.
“I was delighted to be able to share my love for poetry with children at Merridale Primary School and encourage them to be more confident. I was able to listen to the children’s poems and share some tips on how they might be able to improve their performance.
“I also talked to them about the Young Poet Laureate competition – I explained that entering it was a really new experience for me and hopefully it might inspire them to try something different.”
The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Library Service and Boomwriter launched the hunt for a Young Poet Laureate in the autumn, and encouraged children and young people aged between seven and 18 to submit a poem of any style based around the title of My City, My Future. More than 200 entries were received, with Elizabeth performing her winning poem at this year’s Wolverhampton Literature Festival.
