Tuesday May 20th 2025

Dear Diary,

Blazers seem to have magical properties, making their young wearers appear way ahead of their years. So, I found it a little daunting returning to Blackminster Middle School, where the Year 6, 7 & 8 pupils all look 18+. But whilst setting up for the first of my back-to-back assemblies, I spotted Ollie (who I fondly remembered from my previous year’s visit). Thanks to his great big smile, I was reminded that these pupils WERE still children… and weren’t, in fact, a world apart from those I meet during my junior and primary school visits. Blazers do seem somewhat restrictive, though, making their wearers unable to raise their arms to ask or answer any questions during an assembly. 🤣 (Yes, I had a tough audience first thing!) But by the time my workshops began, my nerves had run their course, and the Year 7 students had woken up and warmed up in readiness for the activities I had planned. And what a creative group of Year 7 pupils this was!!!

During my first session, the speed at which the pupils worked really impressed me. And I was pleased to see that, despite the lack of participation during my assemblies, these pupils were not only keen to join in, but they were eager to share their work with their peers. I particularly enjoyed Sofia’s story about a dragon having just eaten her grandma:

And I thought Will’s comic strip did a great job of telling a story through pictures alone:

My next session was just as productive as the first, with so many wonderful pieces of written work and artwork produced in no time that we ended up giving certificates to everyone in this class. Jessica and Rose both wrote chilling stories under the title There’s a Dragon Hiding Under My Bed. It wouldn’t surprise me if they have books of their own published one day.

Then, it was straight on to my third workshop of the day. Once again, the pupils launched into my activities with gusto and came up with some really imaginative ideas. Including Connie’s witty story about a homework-eating dragon:

I spent lunchtime in the library, handing out free stickers and bookmarks and selling signed copies of WARNING: Magic Can Be Dangerous! and WARNING: May Contain Dragons. And I have to say that the blazer-clad pupils in EVERY year group were all super polite and really chatty, making it an absolute joy to engage with them on a one-on-one level. Thank you, Ollie and Joe, for putting your wonderful organisational skills to good use in order to make everything run smoothly and efficiently. Your help was very much appreciated.

My final workshop for the day was no different to the others, with engaged pupils scribbling their ideas down at a rate of knots, and the room in hysterics when students read their work aloud. Some of the girls wrote really clever complaint letters back-and-forth to one another. And I thought Lexi’s story did a brilliant job of building intrigue:

Charlie’s story entitled A Dragon Just Ate My Grandma really tickled me, too:

So, having walked into Blackminster Middle School a little trepidatiously – despite this having been my second visit there – I left with a huge smile on my face and many more fond memories. Middle schools aren’t full of scary pupils… they’re filled with wonderful, warm-hearted, polite, and talented children, and I can’t wait to return to Blackminster again next year!