PUPILS at a County Durham special school have had their lives transformed by poetry.

Students at Glendene School, in Easington Colliery, once struggled with language, but the writings of John Masefield, William Blake, Robert Frost and William Shakespeare have opened up a new world.

Teacher Janet McHugh decided to introduce poetry into the English curriculum while preparing pupils for SATs a year ago.

She was convinced poetry would open a doorway of opportunity for her pupils, whose abilities ranged from mild to profound and severe learning disabilities.

But even she admits she did not anticipate the depth of impact the introduction of poets would have on pupils.

This week in the school hall, three of her star pupils, Lee Simpson, 15, Vicky Lawrence 15 and Daniel Sheridan, 14, illustrated their skills not only at memorising complicated pieces but their excellent techniques of delivery.

They recited poems written by themselves that have been published in an anthology titled Poetry In Motion, County Durham.

Mrs McHugh said that as a result of studying and learning the work of great poets, the pupils had shown dramatic improvements in their use of language, and improved their reading ability.

She said pupils who took part in the poetry project had "gained great academic and social confidence".

The students, who took part in the poetry project, have decided that they want to pursue a course in performing arts.