Students at Wey Valley Academy in Weymouth were thrilled to have been given a performance by internationally acclaimed poets John Agard and Phillip Nanton . Agard delivered one of the most exciting performances in contemporary poetry , not only in the way he performed his work , but also in the way he discussed them with his Year 11 audience . Agard’s poem ‘ Checking Out Me History’ appears on the GCSE Poetry paper for the English Literature examination . In his performance he combined historical awareness, cultural insights and extraordinary humour . 

One student said ‘ the awareness of Agard’s poetry regarding identity, race and culture is significant ‘ . Another exclaimed ‘ this was such a creative workshop that explored issues in society today and alongside revising the poetry, we celebrated diversity and Black History Month here at Wey Valley Academy’.

Mark Chutter, Head of Performing Arts , who organised the event said ‘ our thanks to Phillip Nanton and John Agard and to Renaissance One for such an innovative and creative day . The pupils were highly involved in the session creating their own poetry using the limerick form with Nanton . Agard’s performance was musical, rhythmical and electric . Poetry like this should be in schools - nurturing reading, creativity and performance in our students is at the heart of Wey Valley ‘. Mark Chutter then presented Agard and Nanton at the Dorchester Literary Festival in the evening. The performance was co-produced by Wey Valley Academy and  supported by funding by Arts Council England with sponsorship from Authentic Education.