11th November 2011
Award-winning writer and poet, Mario Petrucci, is launching various literary initiatives as the Writer in Residence at The Godolphin and Latymer School, as part of the school’s Creative Life Programme.
Mario, formerly a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Oxford Brookes and Westminster Universities, and currently RLF Fellow at Brunel University, is running a residential writing course, evening classes, a writing clinic and lunchtime club for Sixth Form English pupils. Mario will also be visiting Brackenbury Primary School where pupils are also participating in the Creative Life Programme.
Creative Life, funded by the school’s Annual Giving Programme will begin with the Writer in Residence and encompass classes as part of the curriculum, in particular creative writing. In addition, after school, pupils can attend a Writing Clinic, where they can spend one to one time with Mario, focusing on a particular area of writing. Mario will also be sharing his expertise with parents, friends and local residents through two 4 week adult writing courses at The Godolphin and Latymer School.
With creative writing now part of the curriculum and an integral part of the A level and IB courses, this Programme will not only add to those studying English at this level, but will also prepare the school’s younger pupils for advanced English. During the half term break, LVI pupils also spent 3 days immersing themselves in writing and reading and gleaning expert advice from Mario in a converted Abbey near Oxford.
Head of English, Mr Julian Bell, said, “Having a Writer in Residence is a fabulous asset for those studying English in the sixth form at Godolphin and Latymer, and one which very few schools can boast. The pupils will really benefit from and enjoy learning directly from a professional writer. Having our very own Writer in Residence has only been possible due to the school’s Annual Giving Programme, for which we are enormously grateful.”
Mario said, “It’s unusual, and somewhat intriguing, to be involved in a school residency that so prominently involves its wider community. By bringing science and study skills into the equation too, this writing residency begins to have the feel of a layered onion that can survive the seasons, rather than a single blade of grass that might wither once the visiting poet has gone.”
Mario has received many awards for his poetry: he is four times winner of the London Writers Competition and recipient of the 2002 Arvon/Daily Telegraph International Poetry Prize. The school’s Annual Giving Programme is supported by gifts from former pupils, staff, parents and past parents. This year every member of staff supported the programme.
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