From the English Faculty
From the English Faculty

English & Literacy Coordinator
David Chapple Poetry Workshops
Writing the first thing that comes to your mind may not seem like the path to poetry, but it was the advice given to our Year 9s at their workshops with poet David Chapple. Through a range of activities, students were directed to write and invited to share. Though initially reticent, staff and students grew in courage, culminating in an encouraging and supportive celebration of poetry.
“I really enjoyed the way David made it easy to write the poetry and didn’t judge any ideas we had. It was interesting to see how different people write different styles of poetry, even with the same instructions.” Aamina, Year 9 Student
“The poetry workshop was unexpectedly fun, especially coming from someone who doesn’t typically enjoy poetry. I appreciated how engaging and open the environment was, which made it easier to participate and express myself. It was really nice to learn different ways to write poetry and how it’s not always about strict structure, rhyme scheme, or advanced techniques, but can actually be a free space to simply write what’s on your mind and explore your thoughts creatively.” Alyssa, Year 9 Student
“The poetry workshop was a great experience that gave us an opportunity to share and reflect on our writing with our peers. One of the main things I enjoyed about the workshop was the variety of poems we could experiment with. This was fun because it allowed us to explore different methods and find what worked for us. Hearing classmates read what they had written was definitely a highlight and it was fun to share our different styles and ideas with each other. I also learned that poetry can be about anything, not just the big ideas, which was helpful in a lot of the writing I did.” Eva, Year 9 Student

