Thursday November 20th 2025
Dear Diary,
My final school visit this term was to Foxmoor Primary. Having visited so many schools over the past year and a half, I sometimes struggle to remember one school from another until I revisit – especially the schools where I’ve spent the whole day in the hall, and haven’t ventured around the building. So, when I pulled up in the car park at Foxmoor and memories of my first visit there came flooding back to me, I was extremely excited to get the day started. And it seems I wasn’t the only one!
As pupils filed in for registration, passing the hall where I was setting up, they waved, gasped, whispered my name, and chatted excitedly to one another, making me grin from ear to ear. And when I launched into my assembly, it was wonderful to see how many children remembered me from the previous year, and were looking forward to getting stuck into my activities.
I couldn’t have been more impressed by the quantity and quality of work the pupils produced during each of my workshops. From Reception all the way up to Year 6, the pupils were so engaged, engrossed in their work, and eager to show it off to their peers. It’s truly incredible to see what children can create with little more than a pencil and a piece of paper. They have such unbelievable imaginations, and it’s truly magical witnessing them tapping into their creativity and conjuring up stories, poems, and raps in the blink of an eye. Hearing how much Harry was hoping to win a certificate and a badge again (like he did the previous year) was the icing on the cake! And although I wasn’t planning on giving out any badges this time around, I managed to find one for him, to go along with the certificate he won.
There are so many talented writers at this school… and artists, too… which made deciding who to award my dragon prize to extremely difficult. But in the end, it was Flora from Year 4 who got to take him home, thanks to her super story written under the title prompt My Teacher Is a Dragon:
When I started my new school, things started to happen. Strange things. For instance, in the science lab, the water somehow set on fire; the glue turned into slime and became alive; and once, I saw smoke come out of Mr D’s nose. And I’d thought this place would be normal. Oh, how wrong I was!
The next day, I was relieved. It was the weekend. Phew! I rolled out of bed and thought for a moment. Hmm. Oh, yes. Mr D. What is going on with him? I gathered photos of him and looked through them. Mr D, Mr D and the class, Mr D and me, a dragon… Wait! What?! Could Mr D really be a dragon? It made sense. He could be fierce…
It wasn’t just Flora’s writing that impressed me, she was also a natural-born storyteller when it came to reading aloud. In fact, many of the pupils at Foxmoor were. I wish I could have spent more time with them all, as the day was over far too soon, marking the end of my free school visits for 2025.
I can’t wait to return to Foxmoor next year with WARNING: Grandma’s Gone Bonkers. But for now, it’s time to sign off and get the first draft of book 4 written!
