An award-winning author surprised pupils and staff at a North Yorkshire school after paying a visit to speak to children and sign books. Carnagill Primary School in Catterick played host to Tom Palmer on Friday (July 5) - with excitement buzzing from both staff and pupils. After reading his book 'Over the Line', this visit was organised by Reading Force; an education company specialising in English and, in particular, reading, as the name suggests.
Author Tom Palmer with a pupil (Image: CARNAGILL PRIMARY SCHOOL) During his visit, the author highlighted that men can be writers and passionate about books – and the importance of being a role model for boys who moan and slump in their seats in English lessons when the teachers say it is time to write a narrative. In another section of his speech, he had the children hooked as soon as he mentioned his dog and stumped the girls when he admitted stealing his daughter’s scrunchie to use as an important part of his planning text. He explained how he had been knocked back, and 10 of his books had never made the bookshelves.
But he never gave up. “Resilience is key”, he explained to the children, “Never give up and always keep going”. Tom signing pupil's books (Image: CARNAGILL PRIMARY SCHOOL) Sarah Bradshaw, the English and Service Pupil Lead at the school, said: "Our pupils’ books come from either the local Tesco or Amazon – the nearest bookshop is about five miles away which is a world away for some of our families.
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