Attended by 100 young finalists from all corners of the country as well as international champions from Ireland, France, Canada and the United States, the Grand Finale of Poetry By Heart, the national poetry speaking competition for schools, took place at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, on Monday 1 July 2024. In a spectacular day of competition and celebration, young finalists performed their poems live for the Poetry By Heart judging panel, comprised of leading poets, and in front of an audience of schools and fellow poetry lovers in The Globe. VIP guest performers included Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, Joseph Coelho, in his last poetry event in as Waterstones Children’s Laureate, and actor, Samuel West. Four national champions have been crowned.

The competition invites young people to choose a poem, learn it by heart and perform it aloud. Established over ten years ago, Poetry By Heart attracted record entries for a second year running: over 1,600 schools took part; over 48,000 poems were learned by heart and there were over 3,000 video entries to the finals.

Congratulating the winners and all the performers, poet and judge Daljit Nagra said, ‘Each entry is a winner because in learning a poem by heart, each entrant has had an experience that will enrich them for the rest of their lives.’

‘We have watched astounding poetry performances all day,’ said Dr Julie Blake, co-founder and director of Poetry By Heart, ‘And we have been inspired and energised too witnessing the support our young performers give to each other as well as the support they received from the audience. Congratulations to absolutely everyone who took part in Poetry By Heart.’

The four National Poetry By Heart Competition winners are:

9-year-old Iman of St Helen’s Preparatory School, Northwood, West London.  Iman chose to perform Heinrich Hoffmann’s gruesome but comic cautionary poem, ‘The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb’. ‘The whole performance was a delight’, said the judges, ‘We were transfixed throughout at the voice, expressions and gestures, and Iman’s thrilling ability to bring out the dark humour of the poem.’

Twelve-year-old Hector of Summer Fields School, Oxford for his performance of ‘To a Fish/ A Fish Answers’ by Leigh Hunt. The judges said, ‘Hector delivered a captivating performance and deftly communicated his enjoyment of the poem, confidently switching from one voice to another.’

Fifteen-year-old Nifemi of Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Kent for her performance of ‘Cousin Kate’ by Christina Rossetti. ‘Nifemi has incredible presence,’ say the judges, ‘and her moving delivery captured the rage and sorrow of the poem, with a beautifully defiant ending.’

Ameera (age 17) of Rugby High School, Warwickshire for her performance of ‘The Cleaner’ by U.A. Fanthorpe. ‘As a dramatic monologue this was note-perfect,’ say the judges. ‘We felt we had a real encounter with the person in the poem. Ameera used her voice well and every word was clear.’

The judges were the Poetry By Heart Poet Advisor, Daljit Nagra and poets Patience Agbabi, Liz Berry, Valerie Bloom, Glyn Maxwell and Jean Sprackland.

Freestyle category

Also taking to the stage were young people who impressed the Poetry By Heart judging team in the Freestyle category, which encourages paired or group performances. KS3 pupils from Astrea Woodfields Academy in Doncaster gave a stirring performance of W.E. Henley’s ‘Invictus’, the poem Nelson Mandela recited to fellow inmates and to himself on Robben Island; trio ‘6CC’ from Battle and Langton CofE Primary School in East Sussex brought the audience to its feet with Wes Magee’s finger-clicking ‘Boneyard Rap’; while 4 pupils from Sir Roger Manwood’s Grammar School in Kent gave a hilarious but sinister performance of the children’s classic, ‘The Spider and the Fly’, by Mary Howitt that left everyone thinking about the nature of vanity and influencers….

‘We love the creativity and energy of these Freestyle performances’ says Julie Blake, ‘and selected some really fantastic ones to showcase here at the Grand Finale.’

Special Awards

There were special awards too for South Walney Junior School, Cumbria and for the Brian Clarke Church of England Academy, Greater Manchester for the way they embraced the competition in their schools with a transformative impact on students.

A tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah

The day concluded with a tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah, who did so much to encourage a love of poetry in young people. Hosted by The Poetry Society, it also featured performances of two Zephaniah poems. Ten-year-old Vasudev of Gurukula – The Hare Krishna Primary School, Watford performed ‘Vegan Delight’ and Jasmine Mack of Faringdon Community College, Oxfordshire, performed ‘What If’.

International champions

Also attending were Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri, National Champion of the USA Poetry Out Loud competition; George Pham, Ellie Reynolds and Shay Collins, Junior Category Winner, Senior Category Winner and Intermediate Category Winner respectively in Ireland’s Poetry Aloud competition; Emiliia Lebedeva , English Stream National Champion in Canada’s Poetry In Voice/ Les voix de la poésie; and Mmeso Mba, High School Overall Winner of France’s ELSA (English Language Schools Association) Poetry By Heart.

The 2025 Poetry By Heart competition will launch on this year’s National Poetry Day, 3 October 2024 with another extravaganza at Shakespeare’s Globe.