Off By Heart.

Poetry is taking centre stage at primary schools across the UK for an exciting competition to find the pupil who can best recite well known poems off by heart.

One 7-11 year old will be chosen from every Primary school that enters. They will then have to do battle in a series of regional heats to see if they can clinch the coveted top prize. The nationwide group of poetry performers will then be whittled down to just 12 finalists who’ll compete at a final compered by Jeremy Paxman during The Oxford Literary Festival next April.

To help them improve their performance all the finalists will be taken through their paces during a master class with a panel of well known actors and poets. The winner will be awarded an Off By Heart trophy and his or her school will also receive a prize. The contest will be the subject of a 90 minute film on BBC Two. Deadline for entries is 19th December 2008. For more information and interviews with Daisy Goodwin who devised the competition, contact [email protected]