Christian Foley
Rapper and educator Christian Foley on why he’s fighting against the screen
Rapper, poet and educator Christian Foley
“We are fighting against the screen, and reframing what reading actually means,” says rapper and educator Christian Foley.
“Sometimes, when children hear the word ‘reading’, they have the conception that it’s an old, dusty book full of wooden language that they don’t understand.
“But whatever we read is important. There should be no snobbery in someone who reads a football programme or someone who reads the complete works of Shakespeare. It’s still the same act of engaging with the written word – it’s all reading.”
In 2014, Christian was selected to complete a spoken word and teaching Masters at Goldsmiths University, which was an initiative created to transform professional poets into educators.
Christian recalls: “Goldsmiths University took 10 poets and said, ‘would you like to train as teachers? You’re going to be half artist, half teacher’.
“I’m more rap oriented, so that’s how I became a rapping teacher. I’m basically a rapper-in-residence where I’m embedded in the school full-time, and I get to teach classes, but I get to choose how I teach and what I teach.”
For 12 years now Christian has worked with hundreds of students and teachers, visiting schools and alternative provisions across east London, delivering workshops to get more children to read.
He explains: “I’ve taught many families in Hackney, and I feel like I’m part of the educational fabric of the area.
“I work across both mainstream schools and alternative provisions in Hackney and east London.
“At the alternative provision I work one-to-one or in very small groups with students, and I re-engage them through rap music.
“I have a record label with the school, and the students release their rap verses and their songs, and it is a way of getting them back into education by finding something they love to do.
“I work in a slightly different way at the mainstream schools, where I might have a class of between 20 and 30, and I work within the English department. It gets raucous in a good way!”
In 2026, the Government launched the National Year of Reading, designed to rekindle a love for reading among all age groups – which is something Christian believes strongly in.
Watch a video of Christian Foley rapping
He says: “The main barrier to reading is the physical access to texts and to books. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to sit and read books that they can access.
“So, first of all, it’s about providing that physical access, and then it’s about providing that space and time to read at school.
“I say to kids, find something that you enjoy reading, that you’re interested in, because every single topic that exists on the planet, there is a book about that topic.
“It’s about finding your interest, and then fitting the book to that, rather than just being ‘forced’ to read.”
About his own journey, Christian explains how he started writing poetry in primary school and then discovered hip hop in secondary school.
He says: “The poet Benjamin Zephaniah came to my school and I gave him a CD of my poems, like a rap demo. He listened to it and he arranged for me to start performing – he mentored me.
“So the poetry visit to my school actually set my own career path. Now I do the same thing to others.
“I think students are so glad for the chance to learn in an alternative, energetic method, because sometimes the way we have to teach at school can be quite restrictive.
“But in lessons like mine, we can have a little bit more vibrancy. It’s all about play, engagement and creativity – and disrupting the normal flow of things.
“The schools tend to enjoy it, I love it and the kids love it. So, it’s a bit of a win-win. And it’s quite unique to Hackney.”
Visit: christianfoley.co.uk