Children’s Literature Festival

On Friday 2 October 2015, we were delighted to host part of the hugely successful Children’s Literature Festival and welcome author, Frank Cottrell Boyce to speak to an audience of local young people.

The event is the largest dedicated children’s book festival in the UK and is staged in association with The Telegraph and Waterstone’s, the publishing and retail partners. The Festival regularly attracts some of the biggest children’s authors and illustrators from the UK and internationally, with past contributors including: Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo, Anthony Horowitz and Malorie Blackman.

The ethos of the festival is simple: to entertain children, and to enthuse them about reading.

We played host to nearly 300 visitors including pupils from other local schools: King Edward’s, Monkton Combe, Calder House and Swainswick Primary. We were all delighted to hear extracts from the author’s most famous novels, with titles such as ‘Cosmic’ and ‘Astounding Brocolii Boy’. Frank then entertained the audience’s questions about his journey as an author.

We were privileged to have been selected as a venue for this event and have been pleased with the positive feedback it has received. The literature themed focus highlights our continued commitment to providing our students with unique and quality learning experiences whilst also demonstrating our passion for working in partnership with our local community of schools for the benefit of all young people.

Mrs Pakeman, Head of English, commented: “It was an absolute pleasure to have been involved in such an important and popular event as the Children’s Literature Festival. It is events such as these that bring the curriculum to life for students and encourage a passion and enthusiasm for reading and creativity that we are so keen to develop here at St Mark’s.