She’s a poet and didn’t sixth formers know it when they had a visit from Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

As part of its sixth form lecture series, St Albans High School for Girls welcomed Dame Carol Ann Duffy to the school recently.

Her readings were introduced and accompanied by her court musician, John Sampson, who performed on a variety of musical instruments.

Parents and sixth form girls, joined by students from the neighbouring Samuel Ryder Academy and St Albans Girls School, were treated to a selection of readings from two of Carol Ann Duffy’s collections: The World’s Wife and Rapture.

The former is a collection of poetry celebrating some of the stories the Poet Laureate grew up with - fairytales, literature, mythology and cinema - while the latter, her most recent collection, comprises love poems about relationships from beginning to end.

Headmistress Jenny Brown said: “The girls were fascinated by Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry, particularly her modern take on old tales, This was an eclectic selection of poems interspersed with a wonderful variety of music.”