WORDS will come alive for literature students at The Skipton Academy when they visit the inspirational Poetry Live! event in Leeds.

The English department will take 48 year 10 and 11 students to the GCSE showcase where they will hear readings, see performances and discussions from some of the country’s leading poets.

Carol Ann Duffy, the poet laureate, Gillian Clarke, the national poet for Wales ,and Simon Armitage, the renowned poet and playwright, are among those taking to the stage on Tuesday.

Head of English Bernadette Butterfield said: “This annual event helps to make poetry accessible to young people in the run up to their GCSE examinations and is an ideal opportunity for students to be introduced to, and inspired by, some of the poetry they will be studying.

“As well as performances from a brilliant collection of poets, there will be two leading examiner sessions, which will give students invaluable guidance and advice about the new unseen poetry examinations.”

Poetry Live! aims to cover all the work included in the latest GCSE curriculum, bringing literature alive for the students. The poets taking part will also discuss the works of WB Yeats, William Blake, Shelley and Ted Hughes.

Skipton Academy principal Wendy Hamilton said: “We are delighted to give our students this opportunity to hear some amazing work read by the poets themselves and to take part in discussions with them about their poems. It is just another example of The Skipton Academy going above and beyond to give our students a broader understanding of their subject.”