Fantastic Festival Continues to Inspire

From Monday 10 – Friday 14 February 2025, we were delighted to once again host our Festival of Literature with an exciting array of authors, illustrators, poets, storytellers and more joining our pupils, and pupils from local schools, to celebrate the written and spoken word.

Monday saw Reception to Year 2 pupils amazed by Professor Jiggett and his Box of Tales as he took them on a magical journey exploring fantasy, folklore, magic, and more.

Monday evening saw us welcome writer, journalist, and disability advocate, Lucy Webster, for an insightful evening as she spoke about her first book and memoir, The View From Down Here.

Award-winning children’s book author, Sophie Deen, asked pupils to channel their inner spies as she discussed her series, Agent Asha, on Tuesday, whilst author and illustrator, Nicholas Allen, led a special drawing class with pupils on Wednesday, and presented this year’s Picture Book Award ceremony.

We were thrilled to present the award to this year’s winner, Who Ate Steve? by Susannah Lloyd and Kate Hindley.

The fun continued on Thursday with our Pre-Prep pupils celebrating storytelling with ‘Bedtime Story Day’, and we welcomed bestselling author, M G Leonard, who took pupils on a time travelling adventure with her newest fast-paced adventure, Hunt for the Golden Scarab.

Author, Lucy Strange, brought this year’s Festival to a close as she discussed the inspiration behind her novels, shared her storytelling secrets, and how she blends the gothic and supernatural into her tales.