Katy Mack and Emma Newport are forming a grant application seeking c. £350 000 from the Nuffield Research, Development and Analysis Fund. Their proposed project is entitled "Poetry on the Pitch: Empowering Girls’ Oracy & Leadership through Football & Spoken Word Poetry", deadline October 1st 2025. This work builds on Sussex's success of Speaking Solidarity, Speaking Citizens, and Sussex Writes. Currently, schools report that girls' school attendance is rapidly declining, particularly in areas of deprivation. Low confidence, poor social skills, and lack of community connection are some of the key reasons for this decline. By embedding oracy and leadership development within grassroots football and youth clubs, we can intervene at a crucial moment—giving girls the tools, networks, and confidence to navigate their future pathways more successfully.  The project directly tackles educational inequality by supporting girls from disadvantaged backgrounds who struggle with confidence and self-advocacy.

              The project addresses:

              Gender disadvantage in leadership

              Socioeconomic barriers (low-income communities in Southeast England)

              Potential impact of home environment (supporting parents to reinforce oracy skills)

              Addresses intersectional barriers (e.g., girls from ethnic minority backgrounds, those with additional needs).

              CIRCY will host a hybrid meeting on May 6th, 11.30-13.00 (location Arts B155 / Zoom) to introduce their grant application.

Katy and Emma would like to receive expressions of interest from, and suggestions of, potential collaborators, including co-investigators, data analysts (PGR or ECR), stakeholders, and advisory board members. They also very much welcome feedback on their grant application ahead of submitting in October. Please fill in this form to signal interest in joining the grant application: https://forms.gle/eNz7C5X2VqawxDPi6

Posted on behalf of: Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities
Last updated: Friday, 25 April 2025