West Yorkshire Young Poets Laureate

West Yorkshire Combined Authority wishes to deliver a programme of activity to promote poetry, creative literacy and pathways to the creative industries within schools in West Yorkshire. The programme will culminate in the selection of two Young Poet Laureates for West Yorkshire, who will have the opportunity to shadow the West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and the National Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, attend key cultural events across the region, write poems to commission, and inspire a new generations of poets and creatives.

We wish to engage an organisation with appropriate skills, experience and capacity in the sector to research and develop the project at pace (Sept-Dec 2022), and deliver the project in schools launching in Spring 2023, with appointment of the young poet laureates in July 2023, and a programme of Poet Laureate activities taking place from July 2023 - July 2024.

The West Yorkshire Young Poets Laureate programme will be an inclusive project, rolled out to schools across West Yorkshire in spring 2023 to promote engagement with poetry, creative literacy and to raise aspirations and awareness of pathways to the wider creative industries. The programme will provisionally be delivered for Yr4 (8-9, KS2) and Yr10 (14-15, KS4), however this is subject to consultation with schools within the R&D stage, with a view to compatibility with the curriculum and exam scheduling.

Our ambition is that 694 primary schools and 195 secondary schools across the region will engage with the activity.