News

Last month we were fortunate to have Mark Grist, a multi-award-winning poet and international battle rapper with over 60 million views for his poetry & rap videos online, visit our school. He has been honoured in two categories at the Webby Awards, won two International Lovie Awards for his poetry online, has been named Edinburgh Fringe Slam Champion and has toured hundreds of schools around the world.  
 
Recently, Mark’s work has appeared on BBC1, ITV, BBC Teach, Channel 4 and BBC 6 music, and he recently starred in Redbull TV’s ‘Mark Grist Battles The World’. 

As well as writing picture books for Bloomsbury, Mark enjoys working on his hit podcast ‘Mark Can’t Rap,’ which is backed by Arts Council England & National Centre for Writing.

"I enjoyed how the poetry assembly was interactive, and it spoke about life lessons in an entertaining way. The poet, Mark Grist, spoke about how we can overcome challenges in life. I liked how he used an example of a story of how his past students helped him to do this. It was really funny and engaging and the stories, poetry and raps were very inspiring." - Sara, Year 8 

"I enjoyed how Mark Grist rapped. It was also nice how he spoke about how he didn't want to participate in a rap show but his students wanted him to, so he did. I think that he was a great teacher who sacrificed things for his students, and I enjoyed listening to his stories about this. He showed that people can overcome their fears." - Montaha, Year 8

"It was very interactive and fun. Mark started with introduing himself and we talked about what is happening in the rapping world, then he read us his poem that started his career 'The Girl who Read' and after we did some writing activities and talked. I think everyone enjoyed it and after I went home and searched him online so I could listen to more of his poems. He was very inspiring and Im really happy that I got to experience the workshop." - Sathvik, Year 10

"I enjoyed watching the enthusiastic performance of Mark Grist. He was able to engage the students with relatable and funny poems along with his creative and inspired story telling. He taught the students to be confident speakers and writers encouraging them to always strive for their best in everything." - Miss Bennett