Wednesday June 11th 2025

Dear Diary,

I was up at dawn this morning and on the road at 5.15am, headed for a school 200 miles away. But despite feeling a little weary when I climbed out of the car, the moment I set foot inside Putnoe Primary, I felt revitalised. The library at this school – the first thing you encounter when you enter the building – is out of this world! As is the school librarian, Miss Pedley! Once again, she kindly accompanied me throughout the duration of my visit. And with two back-to-back assemblies and three whole-year-group workshops timetabled, I couldn’t have done without her amazing help!!!

The pupils were beautifully behaved during each of my assemblies and listened attentively whilst I read the opening chapters of WARNING: May Contain Dragons. And I was delighted when pupils during the second assembly kept responding aloud to my narrator (in whispers) every time he broke the fourth wall and spoke to them directly. There were some super ideas for future stories I should write in the Words of WARNING collection, too! (It was, however, agreed that the boys wouldn’t read ANY stories about fairies. Hmm… we’ll see about that!!!)

My first workshop of the day was for Year 3, a group of around sixty pupils. They were fast workers and came up with some fantastic stories, poems, raps, and letters during this session. Certificates went flying out to all number of pupils, and we managed squeeze so many rounds of reading aloud into 75 minutes. (I always love it when everyone is keen to share their work!) I especially liked A.J’s story entitled Dragon Farts vs Zombie Farts:

… and Ameerah’s story about a dragon hiding under the bed:

After lunch, it was time for a session with 90 Year 4 pupils. It was a noisy affair, but mainly because so many pupils chose to work in pairs or groups. And once again, we somehow managed to hear so many pieces of work read aloud, despite the fact that this session was shorter than the previous one, at just under an hour long. My certificate stash was further depleted at a rate of knots, as there were so many wonderful pieces of work produced. But my favourite pieces during this session would have to be Alana’s story about a dragon hiding under her bed :

… Angelica’s story written under the title Sorry, Sir, but a Dragon Ate My Homework:

… and Shyla’s story about her teacher who’s a dragon:

The final workshop was for around 60 Year 5 pupils. (I’m now wondering whether I’ve muddled the numbers up for each workshop.) But by this point, there was no denying that time certainly works differently at Putnoe Primary, as it seemed to have run away with us by the time we got started, then we suddenly had more than enough time to hear dozens of masterpieces read aloud! (Does Putnoe Primary have the ability to freeze time as and when it suits?!) It was especially nice to hear that some of those that read in front of their peers were pupils who wouldn’t normally be brave enough to do so. It was also super sweet to hear Leo ask another pupil (who was working alone) whether he’d like to join his group and work as a team. And the pupils in Year 5 were such attentive listeners, falling silent immediately every time someone read aloud. I thought Darcey’s story about a dragon hiding under her bed was great fun (the pages are sadly the wrong way around):

Freya’s diary entries were lovely, too:

Marcus’ story about a dragon hiding under his bed was really well written:

… as was Sarah’s story written under the same title (this title was very popular today):

Zofia’s letter about her teacher being a dragon was also brilliant:

It really meant a lot to me when the headteacher kindly commented on how well I interact with students. And I was touched when Miss Pedley got in touch after I’d returned home to let me know what an impact I’d made on all the staff and pupils. But looking through my photos of the day and spotting “inspired by B. Ware” written at the bottom of Olivia’s story was the icing on the cake!

I really do love visiting this school, and I hope to return for many years to come, as I couldn’t have had a more fabulous day! The pupils are always so happy and friendly, and there’s such a sense of calm there, as though the school building itself protects you from all the stresses and strains of normal everyday life. (The students’ purple uniforms do match the cover of WARNING: Magic Can Be Dangerous!… so perhaps there’s magic at play at Putnoe Primary.) And the cherry (or should that be the mashed potato?) on top of the icing on the cake of this wonderful visit was that there were no stairs to negotiate, so my author trolley was able to move freely for the very first time this week (for which my aching back was very grateful)!!!