Tell local radio and newspaper journalists what
you’re doing
Use or adapt this template press release to tell local newspapers, magazines and radio
stations about your contest and winner’s achievements. Why not get some noncompetitors to take photographs and organise this? You could use this material on your
school website, blog, or parent’s newsletter too.
POETRY BY HEART - Press Release Template
For use by: Competition Organisers
From: Your Address/ Contact Details
Details
To: Recipient Address/Contact
Photograph details and caption if available and sent with press release.
Re: Poetry By Heart Competition at (insert name of school/college)
Talented students (insert name of school/college) have been taking part in an inspiring
competition designed to encourage students in England to learn and to recite poems by
heart.
(Insert short description of who organised the competition, where it was held and when.)
(Insert number of students) recited two poems from the 200+ available in the online
anthology which supports the competition at poetrybyheart.org.uk.
The winner was (insert student’s name) who recited (insert poem details in format poem 1 by poet 1 and poem 2 by poet 2 - and add any descriptive detail, such as
what the judges said about the winning performance, or a quote from the winner).
The former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion is Co-Director of the Poetry Archive and plays a
lead role in Poetry By Heart. He commented:
“Poetry By Heart has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2013. Many
thousands of students have not only learned great poems for life but they have also shared
them with friends and families in the inspiring and moving performances that are at the heart
of every competition. I am constantly surprised and delighted by the quality of the students’
achievements.”
Notes to Editors:
1. Poetry By Heart is an educational initiative of the Poetry Archive, the premier online
collection of recordings of poets reading their own work poetryarchive.org. It was developed
in association with curriculum workshop The Full English, thefullenglish. org.uk.
2. The Poetry By Heart website is at poetrybyheart.org.uk and includes information about the
competition and the selection of poems students choose from.
3. Students recite one poem from the Poetry By Heart anthology published before 1914, one
published after 1914; and for county contests and beyond, one poem from the Poetry By
Heart First World War showcase.
4. School/college competitions take place 1st September 2014 to 8th January 2015; winners
of these progress to county contests taking place 16th January to 13th February 2015; county
winners compete in the national finals, 19-21 March 2015 at Homerton College, Cambridge.
5. Over 1000 schools and colleges in England have registered with Poetry By Heart since
2013, with vibrant competitions taking place in over 40 counties each year.
6. Oxford University Press as part of a partnership with Poetry By Heart has provided a
selected number of free links to entries in the Oxford English Dictionary, the Oxford Dictionary
of National Biography, and the American National Biography Online for the duration of the
competition. The free content can be accessed by clicking on highlighted text within the
anthology of poems.