Earlier this year we hosted the Lyra Festival Poetry Workshop at school with Bristol City Poet 2022-23, Caleb Parkin and UK Poetry Slam Champion, Deanna Rodger.

Two of our students - MHS student Altoma and V6 student Ruby - were invited to the Redgrave Theatre for an additional workshop and later made the shortlist for Young City Poet.

Danny Pandolfi, Co-Director of Lyra Festival said:

I hope Altoma and Ruby are both immensely proud of being shortlisted, and delivering such brilliant poems on the day.

Following the rigorous selection process and strong competition, we are delighted to report that Altoma has been appointed as Young City Poet for Bristol.

Altoma had lots of nominations from project partners and facilitators. They really enjoyed her storytelling style. Caleb Parkin described her poetry as 'direct and clear.'

The panel also said that Altoma's work and speaking style expressed both her personal passion for writing and how it empowers her, while also understanding how she can use this role and poetry to amplify the voices of others.

Altoma will be involved in several events across the city including

• A performance of her winning poem at Bristol City of Words at Bristol Beacon
• Performing at the Poetry By Heart event at St George's
• Performing at the Mayor's annual State of the City Address. 

One of Altoma's first duties as Young City Poet has been to appear on ITV local news! 

We look forward to hearing more about Altoma's year as Young City Poet and the opportunities this brings.