University of Worcester students will be working behind the scenes at a major UK poetry festival as it gets underway this week.
The students are taking on internship roles at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, a nationally recognised celebration of poetry and spoken word, running from June 26 to July 5.
The students will work closely with artists and festival teams to support the delivery of events, acting as key points of contact and contributing to the smooth running of performances and activities.
The internships are the result of the University’s long-standing relationship with the festival, which sees students gaining valuable experience each year, boosting their employability. Film Studies and Screenwriting graduate Jacob Briscombe was among those to have the opportunity to work at the Festival last year and went on to secure another internship as a Programme Assistant at Severn Arts.
Creative Writing and Illustration student Julian Wozniczko, who has just finished his first year, is one of this year’s student interns.
“I’m going to be around like-minded people and have the opportunity to meet and work with a range of artists and poets,” he said. “I’m excited to see what I can learn, be exposed to different forms of poetry, and take inspiration from that.”
He added: “Being able to include this on my CV will be quite impressive. I’ll be using people skills and building on prior work experience I’ve already done.”
Fellow intern Jaden Singh, who has just completed the first year of a Creative Writing and English Language degree, is also looking forward to the experience.
“Connections are extremely important,” Jaden said. “There’s going to be a lot of people at the Festival who it will be very valuable to make connections with, so networking will be something that will be crucial.”
Jaden was part of a team of Worcester students who secured second place earlier this year in UniSlam 2026, a national poetry contest for universities, and said he hoped the experience at Ledbury Poetry Festival would build on the confidence he gained through that.
This year’s Festival features the likes of former Poet Laureate Simon Armitage alongside up-and-coming new poets, creative writing sessions and poetry walks. The Festival is being sponsored by the University’s department of English, Media and Culture, which has provided additional mentoring time for the interns and discounted tickets for the University’s students.
Sabeen Chaudhry, Producer at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, said: “Students gain experience working in an exciting and fast-paced arts festival environment, developing their communication and multi-tasking skills and building confidence within a friendly and collaborative team.”
She added: “They are able to work with a variety of different people, from the Poet Laureate to festival technicians, learning about all the different job roles involved in delivering a festival.”
Katy Wareham Morris, Head of the University’s department of English, Media and Culture, said: “We are very happy to be working with Ledbury again so that we can offer this incredible opportunity to our students. The Festival has an international reputation working with outstanding writers. Our students will not only gain knowledge of and experience in the day-to-day operations of this type of large-scale, prestigious festival, but will also develop their confidence and public speaking. It will be a wonderful discussion point for graduate interviews.”