This week has been a real celebration of reading and the spoken word.

On Thursday, we, along we thousands of others, celebrated World Book Day! It was a joyous day where stories were shared, created and discussed. Our favourite book characters were brought to life through marvellous costumes- it was a bit strange seeing a dragon take part in their violin lesson! Our knowledge was tested through booky quizzes. Our creativity flourished through designing activities. And our interest was piqued through the lively discussions of our favourite books. The Year 6s especially enjoyed sharing their buddies’ favourite stories with them.

One of the highlights of the day has to be our very special visitors. We are so lucky to have parents who are published authors and who very generously gave their time to talk to us about their experiences. Whether it be discussions over how real life experiences can turn into a book, how messy sketches can become beautiful illustrations or an insight into the job of an author, the talks had our children inspired and enthralled. The message was clear: anyone can be an author. You just need the desire and the courage to give it go.

World Book Day wasn’t our only special event this week. This week also was the start of the Mid-Somerset Festival, and Tuesday saw our children venture to Bath to compete in a celebration of spoken poetry. Children from Year 2 to Year 6 put their names forward to take part and have been practising incredibly hard: learning their poems, learning how to stand, thinking how best to emphasise to tell the story of the poem. They did themselves and the school so proud! Imagine standing in front of a silent room, packed with strangers, and performing a poem. Scary right? Every child who participated performed beautifully- using their rightful nerves to channel an outstanding performance. Congratulations to the children who achieved a third, second or first but, to me, every child who took part was a winner! Whilst it may be nerve-racking, it also does a lot for developing self-confidence and self-assurance and, as one of the judges said, these are the children who we could see standing at a lectern, running the country one day! Watch this space!