Zephaniah House

Benjamin Zephaniah Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth district (Coleshill) of Birmingham, which he called the "Jamaican capital of Europe", the son of a Barbados postman and a nurse. As a dyslexic, he attended an approved school but left aged 13 unable to read or write.

He writes that his poetry emerged from the rhythms for Jamaica and "street politics". His first performance was in church when he was ten, and by the age of fifteen, his poetry was already known among Handsworth’s Afro-Caribbeanand Asian communities. He received a criminal record with the police as a young man and served a prison sentence for burglary. Tired of preaching only to black peopleabout their own lives, he decided to expand his audience, and headed to London at the age of twenty-two.

Zephaniah lived for many years in East London but since 2008 has divided his time between Beijing and a village near Spalding, Lincolnshire. He is a self-described passionate vegan. He is also a fan of Birmingham's Aston Villa Football Club

House Organisation – Our week
Monday registration	– Diary, uniform and equipment checks
Tuesday registration	– Paired reading and literacy support
Wednesday registration	– House assembly
Thursday registration	– Faith assemblies
Friday registration	–Study skills and support

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