Joining The National Competition

Poetry by Heart is a national poetry recitation competition for schools and colleges in England. It’s also a website for teaching and learning about poetry – by heart and out loud, and with plenty of choice for young people to explore poems and find the ones they love.

In Poetry By Heart 2020-21 children and young people aged 7-18, in key stages 2, 3, 4 and 5 choose poems they love, learn them by heart and perform them in school or college. There are 3 ways of taking part in Poetry By Heart.

The CLASSIC competition is open to individual students in key stages 2 ,3, 4 and 5. They choose 2 poems from the Poetry By Heart website, one published before 1914 and one published in or after 1914. They compete in a school/college competition with at least 3 competitors in each key stage. Schools/colleges may then put forward their key stage winner(s) for the national competition. We judge the performances at county and regional levels and select 10 national finalists in each key stage to invite to the national finalists event at the British Library in Spring 2021 (subject to Covid-19 contingencies). There we will crown a national champion in each key stage. In 2021, one national finalist from key stage 4 or 5 will be chosen to represent England in a special student performance showcase at the hugely prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize awards ceremony in Toronto in June 2021, with all costs for one pupil and one teacher or other chaperone provided.

CLASSIC competition rules and details are here. Deadline: 28th February 2021.

The CELEBRATION competition is also open to students in key stages 2, 3, 4 and 5. It’s for individuals, small groups (2-5 students) and large groups (6+ students) who choose 1 poem to learn from the Poetry By Heart website – any poet, any time period. They perform it by heart in front of others in school/college. Schools/colleges may then put forward one entry per category for the national Celebration competition. We select the 10 best entries nationally and invite these students to come and perform in a special Celebration showcase at the national finalists event at the British Library in Spring 2021 (subject to Covid-19 contingencies).

CELEBRATION competition rules and details are here. Deadline: 28th February 2021.

The new web SHOWCASE is for students in any key stage. If a Classic competition or a Celebration event really doesn’t suit what you’re doing in your setting, or you simply can’t choose who to enter, or the timing doesn’t work, or if your students want to recite their own poems or poems that are not on the Poetry By Heart website – then you can still join in our celebration of poetry out loud and by heart with a Showcase upload. Each school/college can submit up to 9 video performances – any poem, any style, any age, any number of participants and we’ll feature as many as we can in the Performance Gallery on the Poetry By Heart website during the summer term.

Deadline: 31st March 2021.

For all questions, talk to us on 0117 905 5338, email us on info@poetrybyheart.org.uk, or sign up via email for our next Virtual Staffroom.

Classic - 2 poems - A national championship

The CLASSIC competition is the long-running Poetry By Heart national championship. The search is under way to find 10 excellent individual reciters of poetry in each key stage from 2 to 5 and from all regions of England. These 40 students and their teachers/school librarians will be invited to a very special finalists’ events in late Spring 2021, where we will crown a national champion in each key stage.

It starts in school

It all starts with a school/college competition with at least 3 competitors in each key stage. Everything you need is in your competition kit in the Teaching Zone. Using our judging criteria and scoring, you select your key stage winner and then get ready to upload your entry to the national competition. One winner from each key stage can be entered per school or college.

Individual students learn 2 poems, one pre-1914 and one post-1914

In your school/college competition, individual competitors recite 2 poems from the Poetry By Heart website, one published before 1914 and one published in or after 1914. Our timeline anthologies have been curated with specific age groups in mind, but students may choose poems from any timeline – or any of the showcase collections. Students may mix two poems from separate timelines or showcases, as long as there is one poem from each of the pre-1914 and post-1914 categories.

We only remind students, teachers and parents that reciting more advanced poems won’t offer any competitive advantage, but a 17 year old A Level student would have to work quite hard to convince a judge that their choice of a very simple children’s poem was a wise choice for the key stage 5 national competition. But never say never – and what is most important is that the poem is right for the child or young person.

For key stage 2 pupils, the recommended choices are set out for them in the Learning Zone (all free, no login needed) in Choose A Poem 7+

For key stage 3 pupils, the recommended choices are set out for them in the Learning Zone (all free, no login needed) in Choose A Poem 11+

For key stage 4 pupils, the recommended choices are set out for them in the Learning Zone (all free, no login needed) in Choose A Poem 14+

For key stage 5 pupils, the recommended choices are set out for them in the Learning Zone (all free, no login needed) in Choose A poem 16+

Entering the national competition – a simple video upload

To enter the national competition, the school/college makes a separate video of each poem your winner(s) performed – if you have one key stage 3 entrant, that’s two videos, one for each poem. All we want is a simple point-and-shoot video – no cuts, edits, music or special effects. Students can rehearse as much as they like and you can do as many takes as you like until they’re happy with their entry. Then you’ll fill in a straightforward online entry form for each key stage winner, and use our new drag-and-drop video uploader to attach your video files. We’ll keep them safe and secure for judging, with all due regard to safeguarding.

What happens next – the county judging round 

In the next phase of the competition, our judges (poets, poetry experts and educators) first select the best student performance in each county of England in each key stage. We use exactly the same judging criteria and scoring system as in the school/college competition. In each county, we honour a County Winner and a Runner-up, Highly Commended and Commended performances. Every single student entered receives a Poetry By Heart certificate recognising their achievement, with individual feedback about their poem performances. Some students at all levels will be invited, via their schools and with parental permission, to have their video poem performances featured on the Poetry By Heart website.

What happens next – the national finalists

The county winners go through to a regional round of judging. The judges select the best student performance from each of the nine regions of England – North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West. There is one extra ‘wild card’ place to make up the 10 key stage finalists in each key stage. They will compete to become Poetry By Heart national champions for 2020 and perform at the finalists showcase event at the British Library in London in Spring 2021 (date to be confirmed as soon as Covid-19 allows us to). The costs for one pupil and one teacher/librarian (or other adult chaperone) to attend are all covered. Trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each key stage, and all 40 Classic competitors will also receive a fabulous goody bag of reading-related prizes.

In 2021, one national finalist from key stage 4 or 5 will be chosen to represent England in a special student performance showcase at the hugely prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize awards ceremony in Toronto in June 2021, with all costs for one pupil and one teacher or other chaperone provided.

Entry deadline: 28th February 2021.

Celebration - 1 poem - A national showcase

The CELEBRATION competition was new in 2019-20 and is slightly different for 2020-21 to build on that joyful experience. It is designed to celebrate and share many different ways of enjoying poetry aloud. The search is under way to find 10 excellent student reciters of poetry, whether they are individuals, small groups (2-5 students) or large groups (6+ students). We’ll invite 10 students or student groups and their teachers/school librarians to a very special national finalists’ showcase event at the British Library in London in Spring 2021 (date to be confirmed as soon as Covid-19 allows us to).

There is an additional Celebration category for school/college staff to enter too! The same rules apply as below – individual staff members or groups recite 1 poem from the Poetry By Heart website. Any member of school staff can take part, and so too can PGCE tutors and trainees.

It starts in school

It all starts with a school/college Celebration event where students and student groups share their poems aloud in front of others. A Celebration is less formal than the Classic competition and it offers a more diverse channel for students to interpret and express their poems, individually or collaboratively. Maximum participation is the main goal.

There are three Celebration categories – individual freestyle, small group (2-5 students) and large group (6+ students). Schools/colleges may put forward one entry per category for the national competition – so if you have lots of entries you do have to choose! We recommend that you hold an internal competition to select winners to put forward, using our Competition Kit in the Teaching Zone, but there’s more flexibility here for you to choose how you select your entrants.

Students learn 1 poem from the Poetry By Heart website – any poet, any time period

In your school/college Celebration event, students or student groups recite 1 poem from the Poetry By Heart website – any poet, any time period. Our timeline anthologies have been curated with specific age groups in mind, but students may choose poems from any timeline – or any of the showcase collections (Mix It Up, First World War, Shakespeare Sonnets or Romantic Poetry).