Whether it’s help with unpicking a poem, revision advice, or just to say hi Id love to see you between 7-8pm tomorrow night. To access, community members just need to click on the link which will go live at 7pm.

This is what I saw yesterday during a revision lesson with my Year 11 class. Picture the scene: 12.30pm and a class of 15/16 yr olds are wanting their lunch. I announce “Today, we’re going to re-read and analyse ‘If’ and compare it with ‘Poem at 39’.” Did they moan? No! In fact they were fully engaged and when I suggested they tackle a practice comparison essay on Monday, I was greeted by a cheer! These moments make my job a joy - they are the bright sparks on these rainy days.

After years of working alongside students preparing for exams, I’ve found an approach that knocks down the barrier between brain and poetry analysis. This week, my goal is to create a module to guide you through this formula and BONUS - you can use it for unseen poetry analysis too!

Thank you for reading this 😊 I will dedicate time each week to building modules to support the study of each poem. These will be free for all members. Please take the opportunity to join the weekly drop-in. All are welcome - students, parents and fellow teachers. This friendly community is all about sharing best practice to boost those IGCSE grades and the more the merrier!

Welcome to all! Student, parent and fellow teachers! Students - please introduce yourself and rate your confidence in poetry comparison as follows: 1. I've read the poems but need some help in comparing them 2. I've not read all of the poems yet 3. I haven't read any of the poems yet Use this template: Hi, I'm _____________ . I'm in Year ___ . I rate myself ___ Just to check you're in the right place - this is a community for students, teachers, parents and poetry fans who follow the IGCSE Pearson Edexcel English Literature syllabus. These are the poems we will cover: 📜 Edexcel IGCSE Poetry Anthology – Complete Poem List 1. If— – Rudyard Kipling 2. Prayer Before Birth – Louis MacNeice 3. Blessing – Imtiaz Dharker 4. Search For My Tongue – Sujata Bhatt 5. Half-past Two – U.A. Fanthorpe 6. Piano – D.H. Lawrence 7. Hide and Seek – Vernon Scannell 8. Sonnet 116 – William Shakespeare 9. La Belle Dame sans Merci – John Keats 10. Poem at Thirty-Nine – Alice Walker 11. War Photographer – Carol Ann Duffy 12. The Tyger – William Blake 13. My Last Duchess – Robert Browning 14. Half-caste – John Agard 15. Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night – Dylan Thomas 16. Remember – Christina Rossetti