YOUNGSTERS at Pinvin's middle school made up their own poetry in the form of a rap during an unusual but hotly anticipated event.

All of the Year 7 pupils learned it's cool to rap at the poetry master class at St Nicholas C of E Middle School, Pinvin, in January when they were visited by the Birmingham Poet Laureate for 2006/7, Giovanni Esposito.

Otherwise known as Spoz, Mr Esposito brought out the best poetry slamming techniques in the pupils at a day-long workshop at the school.

The children worked in teams of three to seven to write their own poems following the theme, "It’s good to be me".

At the end of the day there was a competition to find the best slam poem to represent the school at the Midlands Middle Schools Poetry Slam finals at the Palace Theatre, Redditch on April 28.

Winners of the St Nicholas Year 7 competition were team, “What are you saying, ABC,” with their rap, “It’s good to be me,” which will now go forward to represent the school.

Bex Chatterton, assistant headteacher, said: "Poetry Slamming with Spoz is an eagerly anticipated activity in the school calendar by all the year 7 pupils, especially the boys, who relish the modern, free way that slamming allows them to make up their own poetry.

"The challenge also is to build on the success of one of our previous teams of slammers who finished as runners up at the finals with their ‘Super Hero rap.’

"We look forward to the performance of this year’s contenders at the finals."