The Poetry Plane is an international act of commemoration and remembrance for young people. Each year, children from schools around the world write WW1 poems which are flown and dropped from a WW1 aircraft at the commemorations for the Battle of the Somme in France. In July 2026, children from more than 50 schools across 27 countries wrote over 2,000 poems for the drops – and more schools are joining every year.
The programme is suitable for 10–15 year-olds and runs annually. The cycle begins in September and culminates in early July, when the poems are dropped at the Somme commemorations. The poems are written on special paper seeded with poppies, cornflowers and forget-me-nots – the memorial flowers of Britain and the Commonwealth, France and Germany – so that once on the ground they self-seed, or are read and then planted as living memorial gardens.
To register your school’s interest in taking part in this international act of commemoration, please complete the short form below. We will be in touch with everything you need to get started – including how to obtain the seeded poem paper and how to access the poem-writing video, slideshow and lesson plans (in English and French).