Posted on 17th Dec
Magnus Church of England Academy year 7 students were visited by children’s author Nathanael Lessore — and all were gifted a copy of one of the writer’s books as a seasonal gift from the academy.
During the event, Nathanael spoke to learners about his average day as a writer, and discussed the inspirations behind his books, Steady for This and King of Nothing.
“I really enjoyed meeting the students. Through the questions-and-answers section, it became obvious they were not viewing me as ‘other’, or a stuffy author talking to them on a stage, but rather as someone with experiences they wanted to discuss,” he said.
“When students become comfortable to ask you such questions, I feel like I have done my job!
“There were lots of questions about being an author, and some about my favourite footballers too! But hearing that some of the students are intent on becoming authors, and wanting to succeed at that — well that would be a dream come true for me as well!
“That’s why the school visits are so enjoyable. You hope that you can inspire students to achieve their own goals, and importantly, I get to meet the people that I am writing for.”
Year 7 learner O-B Cross, who writes a series of books in his spare time, added: “I really enjoyed listening because I want to learn how to improve my own writing.
“I love writing my own books and find it’s a really good hobby. I have had a good day, listening to all the ways the author goes about writing and finding new stories.”
Heather Jackson, Magnus Learning Resource Centre manager, said: “We are proud to be able to gift our year 7 students a book again this Christmas.
“We hope it will encourage them to keep reading through their time here at Magnus.
“We gift a book to every year 7 learner because we feel reading is such a vital part of a student’s progression during their time in school, and this falls in line with our vision to develop people of good character.”
This year’s book gift was Nathanael’s Steady for This.
Nathanael Lessore signs his book, Steady for This for student Ethan Harpham-Fox. Photo: Lauren Chick
Assistant principal Sarah Harper said: “We were honoured to have Nathanael join us for the event and talk about his experiences as a published author and his inspiration.
“At Magnus we value the impact reading can have on our students. It’s so important that they get the opportunity to hear from a published author, to understand what inspired them, see where that creativity stems from, and where that creativity can lead.
“We are proud of the attitudes and behaviour of year 7 learners throughout the event and very impressed with the questions they asked Nathanael after his talk.”
