Wednesday June 18th 2025

Dear Diary,

When I arrived back at Cirencester Primary this morning, a group of pupils raced up to greet me, much to my delight. And shortly before I launched into my morning assembly, I was overwhelmed by how many pupils put their hands up when asked who’d read WARNING: Magic Can Be Dangerous!. There were some super ideas for future book titles in the Words of WARNING collection. (Though they sadly all escape me now, as I forgot to write them down.) And everyone sat silently whilst I read the opening chapters of WARNING: May Contain Dragons aloud. (One pupil later asked how the book I’d read from had mysteriously appeared out of my giant revolving book prop. MAGIC, of course!)

Last year, I hosted workshops for whole year groups in the hall, but this time around we did things slightly differently. So, my first workshop was for 6A in their classroom. It was such a treat to hear that Rosie had already finished reading her copy of DRAGONS, and I’m so pleased she enjoyed it just as much as MAGIC. The pupils in this class were fast workers and had such unique styles when it came to creative writing. There were definitely many future authors in this group, but my two favourite pieces of work were Gabriella’s story written under the title A Dragon Just Ate My Grandma:

… and Esmai’s story about a dragon hiding under her bed:

Next, it was time for a workshop for the other Year 6 class, 6B. It was so hot in their classroom upstairs, but that didn’t stop the pupils from giving my activities their all. They came up with some brilliant ideas around the title prompts I offered them for the first task, with almost all of them keen to read their work aloud. And I thought Bella’s story entitled Why Don’t Dragons Wear Pyjamas was super:

As this session drew to a close, we managed to squeeze in some quick questions. One of the most popular was which author or book character we’d like to meet in real life (my answers being Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton for the authors, and Moon-Face and the BFG for the characters.)

We kicked off after lunch with a workshop for 5A. They could all remember the activities I’d put on the previous year, and were eager to show off their creative writing skills once again. These pupils were fast workers, and it was wonderful to see many of them choosing to continue with the writing activity (rather than moving on to the drawing task). Lots of them tackled multiple title prompts and produced page after page of written work. There were some super collaborations including a rap that was performed in front of the whole class. And I particularly enjoyed Elsa and Harriet’s collaboration… complete with a blurb:

… and Penny’s instruction manual on how to get your dragon to do your homework:

The final workshop was for 5B. The pupils in this class were incredible listeners. They all received Dojo points for immediately falling silent every time any of their peers stood up to read aloud. And it was wonderful to hear that some of those who read aloud were pupils who wouldn’t normally be brave enough to share their work with their peers. Logan had been working on a fantastic story during break and lunchtime, entitled May Contain Ducks and Angry Robo Fish, which he showed me during this session. And everyone worked so hard right up until the last minute, despite it being a sticky end to an incredibly hot day. Among my favourite pieces was Tobias’ story about a dragon hiding under his bed:

Every morning when I wake up and step off my bed, I feel a shiver, like something’s under it.

That weekend, my family went camping, and I thought it would all go away. But no! When I woke up on Saturday… that same shiver. I spoke to my parents, and they said to grow up.

I went to the park the next morning to ask someone. The advice they gave me was an absolutely brilliant idea. So, I went back home and cut off my bed legs. Then I went to bed.

The next morning, I got no shiver. But there was a new problem… my bed cover was charred!

I also loved Tyler N’s stinky story entitled Dragon Farts vs Zombie Farts:

… and Claudia’s cheeky story in which it was suggested that all number of family members should be fed to your dragon as treats if you want your dragon to do your homework for you:

There were some budding artists throughout the day, too, who really excelled at the comic strip activity. I wish we’d had more time for Freddie to finish his during the final session:

The pupils at Cirencester Primary are so kind, polite, and helpful. I had an ever-changing entourage throughout the day, helping me ferry my author kit… and a huge jug of water… up and down stairs. Both the staff and the pupils really made me feel at home at this school, just like they did the last time I was there, and I’ll be really sad not to see the Year 6 pupils when I return next year with book 3.