Yorkshire Poet Attends Wakefield Primary School For National Poetry Day

Leading Yorkshire poet and storyteller, Conrad Burdekin, visited a local primary academy to read to the children and run a creative writing lesson.

Children at Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane were treated to a fun poetry and creative writing session with Conrad to mark National Poetry Day.

As part of the session, Conrad read poetry to whole primary academy during the assembly before setting them the tough challenge of rhyming a word with orange, and wrote postcards with year 5 and year 6 children.

Rachael Skirrow, Principal at Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane, said: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome Conrad and the children really enjoyed his readings.

“Conrad made the sessions fun and engaging so that the every child really felt a part of the lesson and interacted with him.

“At Outwood we always put children first, to raise standards and transform lives. We are committed to doing this by ensuring we fully support the children to reach their potential. Sessions like this with Conrad are an example of this and we are thankful for Conrad for coming in and helping us mark National Poetry Day in this special way.”

While attending the Ledger Lane-based primary academy, Conrad also met with the newly appointed Reading Ambassadors. The Reading Ambassadors are children within the primary academy that encourage others with their reading and help raise awareness of the importance of reading.

Speaking after his visit, Conrad said: “I was thrilled to attend Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane and speak with the children about poetry and creative writing.

“The children were really engaged with the sessions, and their love of literacy was clear to see. It was a real joy to help them with their writing and I am looking forward to returning to the primary academy at some point in the future to see their progress.”

Conrad, who is a published author and has visited over 200 hundred schools delivering creative writing lessons, was a big success with the children. Some of the comments from the children are below:

"I liked it when Conrad threw the alien out of the window!" Layton Y1
"I loved making our own rhymes - they were hilarious!" Lola Y2
"I liked how we changed the pace and tone when reading out our poems so they sounded more interesting." Olivia Y4 
"It was so much fun when we were writing the 'bad holiday' postcard together." Jacob Y5
"Conrad's visit was amazing because he was funny and I liked making the poems with him." Bobby Y6