Visiting author for Year 5 and 6
19th October 2015
Year 5 and 6 pupils at Barrow Hills School were treated to a special visit from children’s author Jane Elson this week, who dropped in to give a talk on the inspiration for her books, as part of the 26th Guildford Book Festival celebrations (11-18 October 2015).
The Schools programme, which features within the Guildford Book Festival initiatives, witnesses a selection of brilliant authors visiting children in local schools and last year 1500 young readers were entertained in classrooms.
Ms Elson whose popular children’s books include A Room Full of Chocolate and How to Fly with Broken Wings is a former actress and comedy improviser who fell into writing stories and plays. Although she always loved stories she originally believed that her dyslexia and resulting problems with spelling and writing would make it impossible for her to become a writer.
As an advocate of the benefits of creative writing for children, Ms Elson was keen to encourage the Year 5 and 6 pupils to open their eyes to the wonderful world of books – and to overcome any barriers to putting pen to paper (or indeed finger to tablet) to craft their very own stories.
Commenting on the visit, Jackie Campbell-John, Head of English at Barrow Hills says,
“It has been a real privilege to have Jane Elson with us today. The children were so excited to meet the author behind the much loved ‘A Room Full of Chocolate’ and were keen to find out how Jane came to write this acclaimed tale about friendship and illness. I’m sure we will see a surge of renewed interest in creative writing after Jane’s motivating talk!”