‘Poet from the Peaks’ pays visit to primary school in Arnold

‘Poet from the Peaks’ Andy Tooze recently visited Burntstump Seely Church of England Primary Academy in Calverton to give a workshop on creative writing.

Known for his children’s books like ‘The Poetry Bug’, Andy, who lives in Buxton, Derbyshire, is often described as ‘the poet from the peaks’.

The popular poet said he had enjoyed his visit to the school in Calverton.

“I came to school today to work with the children, sharing some poems, and also getting them to write their own verse and present their work to the class.”

Andy helped every child to create their own poem about their favourite animals. “The poems the children wrote were absolutely fantastic,” he said. “It’s a lovely school with a great atmosphere and lots of freedom for self-expression. It’s been a brilliant day!”

Teacher at Burntstump Seely C of E Primary Academy, Sally Glover, said she was delighted with the response that Andy had elicited from the pupils. “I have been really surprised with the way the children have coped with writing their poems and then standing up in front of their classes and reading them aloud. They had fantastic expression when they were reading and even children who are usually reluctant to get up in front of class not only have done that, -but have done it incredibly well. It was such a pleasant surprise and they were all so supportive of each other.”

Though she is only in Year 1, talented pupil Ava wrote an excellent poem about a mythical creature. “It was really good because we got to write poems. Unicorns are my favourites, so I wrote about them. I liked today because a person we didn’t know yet came in to see us in class.”