Monday March 3rd 2025
Dear Diary,
Today’s visit to Blue Coat Primary was over in a flash, due to us squeezing SO MUCH into one day! During my assembly, the pupils were all beautifully behaved and listened attentively when I read a couple of chapters of WARNING: Magic Can Be Dangerous! aloud. But they joined in heartily with hands up and questions when it was time to. And so many of them were avid readers, keen to share the titles of their favourite books with everyone. Straight after my assembly, it was on to my first session. But with six thirty-minute workshops in quick succession today, it’s hard to remember who came up with what during which session! Charlotte’s poem about an adorable monster stood out for me, along with (if I remember correctly) Roo’s story about Agent K and Kaiden’s story about a superhero with an embarrassing superpower. And although Thomas was too shy to read his story – about a librarian who can time travel – to the rest of the class, I’m so pleased he allowed me to read it, as it was beautifully written. I can’t remember who wrote the letter from a child secret agent to their boss, but I thought that was very clever, too. And Ingo, Alice, Evie, Elliot, and Maggie were also worthy certificate winners today… along with so many other pupils. (I must get better at taking notes during my visits!!!) At the end of the day, I was lucky enough to be invited to read a story to EYFS, and had a lovely time following this up by talking to them about books and superheroes (their current topic). Kiri kindly organised today’s visit. But I have to admit that I wouldn’t have survived such a fast-paced day without the help of the incredible school administrator, Jo, who was utterly brilliant from start to finish. (I wish I could take her along to all my future school visits!) And at the end of the day, I couldn’t have done without my three lovely Year 6 helpers, Tali, Evie, and Molly. With so many pupils and parents wanting to buy a signed copy of the book – yet my card reader refusing to connect to my mobile phone unless my happy helpers kept running up and down the length of the school car park – it was certainly a crazy end to a whirlwind of a day. I’m grateful to all the pupils at Blue Coat Primary for joining in so wholeheartedly with the activities I put on. I still can’t believe what quick workers they all are, as they created stories, songs, poems, letters, and raps in no time at all today!
