Pupils from three primary schools in Cardiff took part in a finale on Monday that featured a real live poetry tree, a countdown to a rocket launch into space, aliens and astronauts, and a whistlestop trip from Wales to Patagonia via China, India and Africa as part of PoetryQuest, created and run by arts education charity Children & the Arts and supported by the MariaMarina Foundation.

The project operates around the country, and over the last few months PoetryQuest has been working with 126 pupils aged 8-11 in three Cardiff schools - Ysgol Pencae, pictured, Fairfield primary school and Severn primary school. All of the pupils have had very little or no exposure to poetry.

The schools have participated in poetry workshops and performances organised and delivered by the Chapter arts centre in Cardiff, and Literature Wales, working with poets Aneirin Karadog and Mab Jones, both at Chapter and in school. Aneirin and Mab, the teachers and children collected together ideas and chosen themes that connected with what the children were already doing in school and as part of the curriculum, including the 1960s space race, the 150th anniversary of the first Welsh settlers to arrive in Patagonia, Argentina, and roots and belonging.

Poetry activities in four workshops over three months in each school included acronym poetry, rhyming and poetry games, exploration of metaphors, similes, alliteration, consonance and assonance, and individual and group poetry writing and performing. Each workshop has included a performance in class by the children, in preparation for the grand PoetryQuest finale on 13 July at Chapter.

Aneirin Karadog, who writes poetry in the strict Welsh meter called Cynghanedd and in free verse, said:  "It has great to work with two schools in Cardiff of different backgrounds, those being Ysgol Pencae and Severn Primary.  I hope that I have somehow managed to inspire the young poets, but as they have gone on to create their own poetry shows, they have astounded and inspired myself through their creative and performative talents.”

Mab Jones said: “I have really enjoyed working with the children at Fairfield primary school in Penarth, they have excelled at putting their own poetry show together, and have demonstrated amazing creativity, imagination, team spirit, and enthusiasm. The teachers, too, have been wonderful - fully engaged with the PoetryQuest and extremely supportive. The Quest is now at an end, but I'm certain all the children involved will take their writing and performing skills forward with them, and will continue to enjoy both the spoken and written word."

Emma Burnhill-Smith, a Year 4 teacher at Fairfield primary school, said: “The pupils have all engaged with the project and are enthusiastic about every session. They have enjoyed the combination of learning about the solar system and using that to create poetry. The activities that Mab has used with them have been appropriate, stimulating and creative with the less able pupils supported and the more able pupils challenged. The support from Chapter with the animation of their work has been fantastic and the pupils have gone on to work independently at creating their own animations." 

Ian Williams, a Year 4 Teacher at Ysgol Pencae, said: “This has been an excellent opportunity for Year 4 pupils to engage in an enriched literacy activity following the ‘Around the World’ theme. This was incorporated to the 150 years of history of Patagonia.  It has been great working with Aneirin Karadog as he was able to ensure fun literacy activities into this pleasurable experience."

Emily, aged 10, a pupil at Fairfield primary school, said that Mab Jones had “inspired me to do more poetry and she has been fun to work with”.

Yusef, aged 10, a pupil at Severn primary school, said: "It is helping with our spoken Welsh and Aneirin's rapping is cool."