News from Upton Junior School

Top Storytellers Wows Upton Children

Children at Upton Juniors in Broadstairs have been inspired after face to face sessions with acclaimed award-winning authors.

Tony Bradman – whose works include Viking Boy, Anglo-Saxon Boy, Revolt against the Romans and Dilly the Dinosaur – ran four workshops, one for each year group.

He discussed with pupils how he develops his stories, where his ideas come from and the importance of reading for pleasure. Mr Bradman enjoyed his time at Upton. He said: “It was a great day, I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day at the school.  The children were inquisitive and asked excellent questions which really made me think. I loved sharing my stories with them."

The visit was linked to the English curriculum as pupils read several of his books as historical fiction across the school including Anglo-Saxon Boy which Year 5 read in term 3 and Revolt Against the Romans which the Year 3 group is currently studying. It also linked to Upton’s ongoing drive of reading for pleasure and oracy including the importance of telling stories aloud.

Assistant Head of School Gemma Scarr said: “It was such a wonderful day with Tony. The children were amazed that someone’s book they are reading in school came in and spent time with them. They asked insightful questions and were captivated by the storytelling that they heard.”

Earlier this year author Ciaran Murtagh enjoyed a lively session with Year 3 children when he discussed his job and the craft of writing – and together they created a story laced with a lot of laughter on the way.He began by tearing a page from a dictionary and chose a handful of words which had to be included in the story.

The idea has inspired children who used the technique to drive their own creative writing.

The visit was part of the school’s English development and reading for pleasure ethos as well as exposing pupils to a range of career opportunities.

Head of Year 3 Katie Vary said: “Our children had a whale of a time with Ciaran – he is such an engaging and enthusiastic speaker who has clearly inspired the children to experiment with their own creative writing.  He enjoyed his time at Upton and commented that the children were engaged and had very good ideas.

A BAFTA award-winning screenwriter and author, he has written more than 30 books for children and is published in twelve languages. The Fincredible Diary of Fin Spencer won the Leicester Best Book Award, and prior to that he won a Riveting Reads Award for Genie in Training. In addition to his books Ciaran has written for some of the world's best-loved television shows including Mr Bean, Danger Mouse, The Amazing World of Gumball and Shaun the Sheep.

Head of School Darci Arthur said: “It is clear to see how much the visit of Tony and Ciaran’s has inspired our children. Having top authors show them how they develop their stories and being able to discuss the process in workshops is a valuable experience. It has further engaged them in a love of literacy which is an important part of our learning at Upton.”