Flint High School students compose song inspired by ‘Life in Lockdown’ project

A poetry project launched by Flint High School in May to create a record of students’ life experiences during the lockdown period has received an amazing response and has led to the creation of a song using lines from a selection of the poems.

Literacy coordinator Nicola Paulson originally came up with the idea of making a Lockdown Anthology as an opportunity for students to express their thoughts and feelings during this period. The project has also generated national interest with BBC Wales expressing an interest in covering it. 

She said: “I am absolutely amazed by the fantastic reaction to the project.  We have received over eighty poems, mainly from students but also from staff and members of the local community, which is fantastic.  Many of us will have experienced a range of emotions in these challenging times and writing poetry can be a wonderful way of expressing our views and giving ourselves a voice.  

“All the poems will now be compiled for the Lockdown Anthology which we are hoping to get printed and keep for posterity as a mark of this unprecedented time.  The hope is also to celebrate and share the efforts of everybody who has submitted their poetry by hosting an evening with poetry readings, art, and music to showcase their work once we are all back together.”

The project is still evolving; an art competition to design the front cover of the Lockdown Anthology which organised by Miss Claire Evans in the art department.  The competition received some stunning entries and was won by Emily Hayes, year 9, who will be studying GCSE Art from September.  A selection of other impressive entries will be showcased alongside some of the poems in the book.

Another offshoot of the project has been the creation of a moving and heartfelt song called Together Hand in Hand.  

Fran Lister, music teacher, took poems with a similar sentiment and arranged them into a basic song structure.  She then sent lyrics out to students with some chord suggestions and music theory about why certain chords work together.   The selected lyrics were written by Megan Pearson and Ben Edwards both year 9, Alys Davies-Abbott, year 8, Keira Reece, year 7, Dyan Crimes, staff, and David, Joseph and Sofia Jones, all staff and family members. 

After asking students to compose their own chord progressions, Adele Crimes and Olivia Francis-Owen, both year 8, and Megan Pearson, took up the challenge.  Mrs Lister said: “Adele at this point had already composed a beautiful verse melody as well as the chords.   I put the three students’ work together and sent it back to Adele with a suggestion of how it could work, giving her artistic license to adapt the lyrics and chords to fit her vision. 

“Adele is so talented, and she produced over and above what I had suggested.  She put together this poignant song that encapsulates our collective experience of this unprecedented time and performed it beautifully.  It will forever be a reminder of life in lockdown.”

Adele said: “Once I was given artistic licence over the song it inspired me to capture the sense of the lockdown in its melody. I have really enjoyed this project because I have been able to express myself creatively and develop my song writing ability.”

A further two set of lyrics for a rap song and a rock song are also in production. 

Mrs Paulson added: “It has been fantastic that the project has developed cross curricular links and continues to grow in scope and energy. Mrs Lister has done a wonderful job with the musical side of things and it has been an absolute dream to see the words of some of the poems submitted being transformed into such powerful and inspiring lyrics accompanied by beautiful melodies. We are extremely excited about the next instalment!  I would like to thank everyone for all their hard work and commitment to the project.”

To listen to the song, please visit the school’s website www.flinthighschool.wales.