3 Educators providing Poetry courses in Royal Tunbridge Wells

mel parks

My Work Research Researching the stories we tell ourselves and other people; both historically and the present day – I delve into stories in academic research, the media, memoir, diaries, fiction, art as well as myths and fairy tales to understand the dominant narrative. Write Writing my own stories. I don’t ask other people to do anything I haven’t done myself, so my research includes autoethnographic or creative work of my own. Writing myself into my work is integral to understanding and shifting the narrative. I also work in creative collaboration with others. Facilitate Helping others tell their stories. My aim is to encourage diversity, complexity and specificity. There are no quick fixes, tidy endings, or moments of complete resolution in life and the stories we write and create will ideally represent this. Stories don’t need to be straightforward narratives, so I offer tips and techniques and make space for blends of different types of writing (eg poetry, lyric essays, journals or reflective writing) or other understandings of stories such as craft or visual representations. Curate Sharing stories. I aim to do all that I can to help little-heard stories shake the hearts and change the minds of policy makers and other people who keep the dominant narrative going. I do this by commissioning, editing and publishing stories of community and co-production on Ideas Hub; organising events; speaking at conferences; creating online archives; and writing and publishing articles about my work.

hillview school for girls

Hillview School for Girls is a unique learning establishment. Our ethos is built around a broad and balanced education where students are able to explore their interests and talents, whilst making good progress across a range of academic and foundation subjects. Our specialism in Performing and Visual Arts and outstanding attainment across a wide range of curriculum areas enables all of our students to develop their passions within a safe and supportive environment. As a school we strive to support each and every child to realise their dreams and ambitions. We realise that this requires a strong balance between exploring and developing their skills and understanding throughout their learning and harnessing their interests. Our strong pastoral system supports our students in their decision-making, confidence-building and resilience, which will serve them so well in an ever-changing and challenging world.Our mixed sixth form offers one of the widest subject ranges in the local area, across multiple specialist academic and vocational courses. Our curriculum offers students the flexibility to specialise in one area or keep a wide subject base. Our new Performing Arts studio route provides our students with the industry experience to secure their progression into their chosen field or on to university study. We are highly aspirational for all our Key Stage 5 students and actively support their progression onto university by leading them through the application process and developing their transferable, personal skills and independent learning skills to ensure they are successful in their subsequent studies. Students develop their understanding of the local community through varied community and business links and fundraising opportunities. Our new Science HUB, offers members of the community the chance to experience lectures from top scientists, which also supports our students’ exploration into high academic, aspirational career pathways. Our highly active and dedicated PTA offer a range of events throughout the year, for students and parents. Their hard work and effort continues to support our students by providing facilities such as a school minibus or covered seating areas. They are always looking for new members to support their on-going projects. We are entering a new and exciting time, which will see the school moving from strength to strength, building upon our current position as one of the highest attaining non-selective schools in Kent; with 61% of our students leaving with 5 A*-C including English and Maths. Together, as a school, we will be building an outstanding provision for the future, where students will take a highly active role within the wider school development and their own learning journey. Our students access a highly personalised curriculum which enables each individual to progress at a rate suitable to their needs. A student’s successful progression through the school is dependent upon a strong partnership and network and I ask all parents to support their children and the school by promoting positive learning behaviours and engaging their child in discussions about their work.

maidstone grammar school