Cheltenham Literature Festival Poetry Masterclass

Chosen Hill School at the Cheltenham Literature Festival

On Friday 13th October some of our year 12 and 13s studying English A Level visited the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Our very own Madeline Phillips was given the privilege of introducing the Poetry Masterclass with Anthony Joseph. After taking us on a whirlwind tour of the origin of the sonnet and how it has evolved over time, Joseph set us the challenge of composing our own sonnets. Needless to say, our girls did Chosen Hill proud, producing thought provoking and emotive pieces which they bravely shared with the other groups attending. 

We then attended an Introduction to Journalism with Benjamin Dean. This session was particularly interesting because Dean had a career interviewing high profile celebrities for over five years before deciding to use this material to write his own novels. Having met Ryan Reynolds, Little Mix and Emily Blunt, our students found it fascinating to hear how he broke into this area of journalism using his English degree. Francesca met him afterwards to not only get his novel signed but to try to persuade him to visit us at Chosen Hill!