Thursday May 22nd 2025

Dear Diary,

This was the first time I’d visited St Mary’s Primary in Tetbury. But from the moment I arrived there, I knew I was going to be in for a great day. The pupils filed into the assembly with massive grins on their faces, sat beautifully whilst I read the opening chapters of WARNING: May Contain Dragons, and were keen to ask and answer as many questions as we could squeeze in. What a super audience!!!

After my assembly, Year 6 helped pull tables out in the hall so that their workshop could quickly get underway. Despite these pupils having sat their SATs the previous week (and being just one day away from half term), they were full of energy and came up with an abundance of great ideas during my activities. Certificates went flying out around the room at the end of the session. But of all the super stories, poems, raps, and diary entries that were dreamt up, I especially enjoyed Ben’s poem about a dragon hiding under his bed:

… and Isla’s story written under the title My Teacher Is a Dragon:

Next, it was time for a workshop with Years 4 & 5. Once again, the students wasted no time launching straight into my activities. And so many children were eager to read their creations aloud to the rest of the group. My favourites would have to be Alice’s story entitled A Dragon Just Ate My Grandma:

… and Josh’s poem written under the same title:

A dragon just ate my beloved gran,
He smothered her with strawberry jam.
A dragon just ate my pops,
I was so worried, I called the cops.
A dragon just ate my beloved mum,
I bet he found her very scrum.
A dragon just ate my beloved dad,
It made me very, very sad.
A dragon just ate my brother (Kit),
You know what? I don’t mind one bit!

Lunch was sandwiched between two fifteen-minute drop-in sessions for the younger pupils (as there wasn’t time to fit whole workshops in for these students). It was a real pleasure speaking with them about the stories they enjoyed, the ideas they had for future books I should write in the Words of WARNING collection… and discovering that they weren’t scared of spiders OR zombies!!!

The afternoon then continued with a shorter session for Year 2. But despite these pupils having less time to come up with ideas and get them down on paper, they all still excelled and really impressed me and their teachers. I thought Scarlett’s account about what dragons do with doughnuts was especially entertaining:

Finally, it was time to wrap things up with a workshop for Year 3. This session was over in a flash. But I got to witness more super work being created, such as Julia’s hilarious story about a dragon eating her homework:

… I mean, my grandma has always said paper has legs!

I also got to see the super story Florence has been working on at home recently:

It was a mad dash to set up for selling signed copies at the end of the day. But Rachel (who organised my visit) very kindly supplied me with some help… in the form of three incredibly capable Year 6 pupils from Oak Class. I don’t think I’d have survived without Peter, Jacob, and Raife once the parents started arriving and a queue began snaking its way around the school entrance. I still can’t quite believe how many pupils wanted to purchase a book!!! And my three young helpers couldn’t have been more switched on, polite, and supportive. In fact, it’s rather a shame they can’t assist me during ALL of my school visits! They really were a godsend. (As was the strong cup of coffee that Rachel later provided me with for the drive home.)

I had an unforgettable day at St Mary’s, and I can’t wait to return next year for more fun and silliness with book 3!!!