About
The Project
Streetspeak harnesses young people’s interest in football to develop their literacy skills and raise their self-esteem and aspirations.
In and around Preston, five respected poets lead workshops with young people, encouraging them to write and perform poetry. Eight hundred young people will take part in the three-year project.
At the end of the project, the young people will exhibit and perform their poetry in a multimedia presentation at the National Football Museum. Their poems will be published in a final anthology.
Already, sessions with five groups have been highly successful. Young people say they feel ‘more positive and confident’ about their writing.
One young person was inspired to write about Terry Caffrey, one of the Streetspeak poets:
‘Terry puts his words into a song and he knows how to make people laugh. He is very rich, and it is not about being rich, it is what is in his heart that makes him a good writer.’
The stimulus for this work was the Football Poetry Exhibition held at the National Football Museum from September 2007 to March 2008.
Streetspeak is funded by:
Streetspeak will use the NFM’s unique place in football, and football’s role as a positive force in society, to:
- improve social inclusion
- reduce juvenile nuisance
- raise educational standards
Streetspeak aims to improve young people’s listening, speaking and writing skills. The young people who take part will read, write and perform poetry with a football focus. They will record their work and feelings in written and video diaries, so that their progress in literacy, attainment and self-esteem can be monitored.
The project will create a legacy of learning resources for the next generation of young people. It will develop a stronger relationship between the National Football Museum, Preston North End Youth Development Team and community groups in the North West.
See the contact page for more information on how to get in touch.
