Wednesday July 9th 2025

Dear Diary,

Today was the first time I’ve visited Stratton Primary School… but I hope it won’t be the last! The pupils were bubbling over with excitement during my morning assembly, and eager to join in by asking and answering questions throughout. In fact, I think they were my best audience yet, so it was a shame when the assembly had to come to an end!!! But with four workshops to fit in, it was soon time to clear the hall and set up tables in readiness.

My first workshop was for Years 5 & 6. These students were incredibly fast workers, and there were so many fantastic poets among them. With almost everyone wanting to read their work aloud to their peers, time quickly ran away with us. And certificates went flying out here, there, and everywhere!

Next, it was time for a session with Years 3 & 4. These students were another talented bunch. The variety of written work that was produced under just nine different title prompts was lovely to see. And once again, it was a race to fit in all the reading aloud.

After lunch, I spent time with the Reception pupils. They started off with the letter tracing sheets, calling out every time they’d traced over another word or two so that I could read what was written to the whole class. They then moved on to designing book covers of their own. We had books about bunnies, unicorns, and werewolves, to name but a few. And my certificate stash further depleted in no time!

Finally, I hosted a workshop for Years 1 & 2, who all squeezed into one classroom. This session flew by as I worked my way around the group, with these young pupils really impressing me with their neat handwriting, their imaginative ideas, and their level of concentration. And just like during each of the earlier sessions, it was wonderful that so many of these pupils wanted to share their work by reading aloud.

I had an incredible time at Stratton Primary. The pupils were all polite, hardworking, and full of joy… making it a real wrench for me to leave.