Monday June 9th 2025

Dear Diary,

I was off to Bristol today for my first ever visit to Birdwell Primary Academy. But I soon came upon some familiar faces, as twins Casper and Eli (who I’d previously met at Bristol Central Library) are pupils there!

My morning assembly couldn’t have gone down better, with giggles, grins, and gasps aplenty. In fact, the opening chapters of WARNING: May Contain Dragons were so well received that I was tempted to keep on reading all the way to the end of the book!!! But with a whole host of workshops booked in, there was no time for that…

I always knew this visit was going to be intense, as we’d squeezed 5 hour-long workshops into the timetable – with each of them taking place between two classrooms! But nobody warned me about all the stairs!!! As soon as the assembly was over, I raced out of the hall and into another building… where my author trolley was quickly abandoned. Then I grabbed my (far too heavy) workshop kit and carted it up some stairs (I think) to the Year 3 classrooms. After dashing from one class to the next every few minutes during the first hour, then repeating this for the Year 4 and Year 5 sessions that followed, I was gasping for breath by the time I got to take a quick thirty-minute break at lunchtime. So, suffice it to say that the morning passed in a bit of a blur. But I do remember some super written work being produced during these morning sessions and that three lovely pupils from (I think) Maple Class kindly helped me move my (previously abandoned) trolley through the school ready for the afternoon sessions.

Some of my favourite pieces of work are below.

Freya, Year 3:

Sam, Year 3:

William, Year 4:

Thea, Year 4:

Ellie, Year 4:

Flossie, Year 5:

Sophie, Year 5:

Jess, Year 5:

(I do hope I got all of those names right!)

After a quick bite to eat and my energy levels boosted, I was ready for a session with Year 2. Though I still refuse to believe that the pupils I spent time with straight after lunch weren’t older… as the work they produced was incredible!

Amelie, Year 2:

Sophie, Year 2:

Toby, Year 2:

It was wonderful to hear that one of the Year 2 classes had been unable to resist reading some more of WARNING: May Contain Dragons straight after my assembly, as they were keen to hear what happened next! And Tyler’s excitable reaction upon discovering that the main character in my first book shares his name was a real treat to witness, too! (It led to him buying a copy of that book after school – despite having already pre-ordered a copy of WARNING: May Contain Dragons!) The pupils in this year group were so advanced, such fast workers, and a delight to spend time with. I wish I could have stayed with them a little longer… but in the blink of an eye, it was time for another workshop.

We ended up pulling both Year 6 classes together into a shared space for the final session of the day, which made it a rather noisy affair, as these pupils were certainly full of beans. They were great fun to spend time with, though, and came up with some super work, including Yaz’s poem:

I had an incredible time at Birdwell despite the fast pace of the day. The pupils (and the teachers) at this school were all so kind, polite, and welcoming throughout my stay, and I really hope to return again next year (but perhaps slow things down a little next time around).