Monday June 8th 2026

Some school visits are memorable because of something a pupil says.

Some are memorable because of a particular moment during the day.

My first visit to Brimscombe Primary School will always be wedged in my brain as the only school I’ve ever arrived late to!!!

Roadworks completely disrupted my journey that day, so when I returned today, I wasn’t taking any chances. I ended up arriving ridiculously early, parking around the corner, and waiting for half an hour before heading in.

Once I was inside the school, Breakfast Club was still taking place. Some of the younger children were busy building camps from gym mats in the hall, while the Year 6 pupils were preparing for their residential trip. It struck me that they were both getting ready for overnight adventures in completely different ways… one group building pretend camps indoors, and the other heading off on a real trip.

One Breakfast Club pupil excitedly told his friend that he already had MAGIC and DRAGONS and desperately needed GRANDMA. It was lovely hearing how determined he was to complete his collection.

The assembly was full of brilliant questions, imaginative ideas, and wonderfully creative suggestions for future Words of WARNING stories – from parallel universes, to turtles taking over the world, to aliens emerging from computers.

One of the day’s highlights was delivering my first-ever workshop exclusively for Preschool pupils. They were brilliant, and we finished by sharing Little Red Gingerbread by Rosie Greening together.

During my Reception and Year 1 workshop, one pupil came up with one of the best titles I’ve ever heard:

WARNING: There’s a Grandma in My Packed Lunch

I don’t know whether he’d come up with the idea entirely himself or whether there’s already a book out there with a similar title, but either way, it certainly made me smile.

Later in the day, I walked into one class just as their teacher was reading The BFG aloud – one of my favourite books from childhood – which made it a rather special moment to walk in on.

My final workshop of the day with Years 4 and 5 was probably my favourite. Not just because the session was a little longer, but because I got to have some really deep conversations about books, writing, and publishing. I don’t often get the chance to have conversations like that during a workshop, and it was wonderful seeing just how seriously some children are already thinking about stories and storytelling.

Choosing certificate winners is always incredibly difficult, and once again I ended up handing out lots throughout the day. My overall dragon prize winner, however, was Beaux. He wrote a fantastic story based on the title prompt My Nana is a Ninja. It was packed with imagination, humour, and clever ideas. If he’s already writing at this level, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he becomes an author one day.

What will stay with me most, though, happened as the pupils left assembly.

One pupil thanked me for visiting.

Then another did.

Then more.

Nobody had prompted them.

They simply wanted to say thank you.

It was a whole stream of pupils proudly saying thank you as they walked past.

It was a beautiful moment, and one that perfectly summed up the warmth, kindness, and welcome I received throughout the day.

A huge thank you to all the staff and pupils at Brimscombe Primary School for making me feel so welcome on my return visit.