~

Poetry By Heart, the nation’s poetry speaking competition, opens with a call to all schools in England to sign up AND a preview of Poetry By Heart: the Movie, the inspiring new feature film documentary following schools as they enter the competition.

Founded in 2013 by former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion and Dr Julie Blake, Poetry By Heart is open to all schools and colleges in England. It invites young people to choose a poem they love, learn it by heart, and perform it out loud. Schools hold internal competitions to select their own winners, with the best from each region invited to a Grand Finale at Shakespeare’s Globe, London to compete for the title of national champion.

It is loved by teachers and young people: over 1,600 schools took part in 2025; 128,000 young people performed a poem by heart out loud for others; and over 4,300 were entered into the competition final.

“National Poetry Day proves that poetry belongs everywhere” says Dr Julie Blake, co-founder and co-director of Poetry By Heart, “but it has a special place in schools. As revealed in our movie, teachers and the young people who take part in Poetry By Heart understand the joy, satisfaction and deep learning that comes from knowing a poem by heart. Our film shows that learning poetry by heart is enjoyable and transformative; it illustrates the confidence gained in performing a poem for others, and the development of skills related to oracy. It shows how, by engaging with a poem’s meanings, developing their own personal response and crafting their performance of a poem for others, pupils understand poetry better and enjoy it more. It’s also full of the sheer joy of learning and speaking poetry.”

From teachers and students involved in Poetry By Heart 2025

“Children are using a greater scale of vocabulary and imagery that they are now using in their own writing – they have been inspired.” Teacher, 2025

“The joy of seeing children walking around at play time learning a poem because that was what they wanted to do. Parents telling me how excited their children were by poetry. Building a culture of a love of poetry in a school that has significant challenges, high SEND and a very diverse intake.” Teacher, 2025

“Students were able to increase their reading ages and showed a real love of their chosen Poems. We are able to link to both Oracy and Reading lessons.” Teacher, 2025