A Visit from Laura Mucha

Author and poet, Laura Mucha, kicked off our 2024 Festival of Words with an explosion of energy.  Her presentation to the whole school covered her own personal journey from city lawyer to poet, the ins and outs of the painstaking publishing process, the joys of partnering with organisations such as The British Museum and the Natural History Museum, and the importance of saving all our scraps of creative work for a future when they may seem more relevant ( – one of her most well-known poems languished in a drawer for eight years before she re-discovered it and re-mastered it!).

A multi-award winner, Laura is currently the author in residence at Cambridge University and has spent many years working on psychology and mental health projects, particularly relating to children.

In individual workshops  with Years 3, 4 and 5, she used one of her own poems as a scaffold and, drawing on their own emotions in particular situations, worked with each group to create a their own special Beacon-Mucha collaboration.

Our Year 3 boys focused on ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ and, together, they created and edited a poem incorporating possible responses from several characters from within the story.

Years 4 and 5 used Laura’s poem ‘The Thought Machine’, which explores our inner critic and how it can be silenced by positivity. As a Year Group, they worked together to create their own version.

The boys were incredibly engaged and produced some exceptional pieces of work.