T.M JORDEN
Supporting Schools
“I think Monday will remain with our children for life – it was a memory that they will cherish and be inspired by forever – thank you!”
Miss. Dawson - Etwall Primary School - English and DT Lead
Award winning author Tim Jorden is proudly supporting schools across the country to help children enjoy reading and get excited about stories by using their imagination.
You can learn more about Tims's work in this area by reading more below.
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Tim Jorden is available for school visits (DBS certificate).
Please use the contact button below form to get in touch.
Supporting the life-changing libraries project
Cressida Cowell MBE, former Children's Laureate, launched a life-changing libraries project in 2021 to support UK primary schools in conjunction with the Book Trust. She also called on the Government to fund primary school libraries so that millions of children, particularly those from the poorest communities, don’t miss out on the opportunity to read for pleasure.
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What a fantastic campaign and one that I decided to support by giving away signed paperback copies of the Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted books to UK primary school libraries. In addition I have collected over £40,000 worth of books from my local community to donate and support this critical stage in a child's education.
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Let's ensure every child has the opportunity to read and encourage them as much as we can.
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Thanks
A visit to Mary Swanwick Primary School,
Chesterfield, Derbyshire
"I enjoyed meeting Tim and Lord Ted; they were really nice."
What an absolutely brilliant day I had at Mary Swanwick Primary School - thank you to all the children and teachers for making me feel part of the family for a day.
The school and children are an absolute credit to all the teachers who embraced what I was trying to do all day long - I have never met such respectful children who asked such great and intelligent questions.
We kicked things off with a whole-school assembly where we talked about being the best that you can be.
I then hosted workshops across each year group and talked about my journey to becoming an author and where his inspiration for writing comes from with such brilliant questions from all year groups.
Year 1 and 2 participated in a competition to design a new book character - and two lucky children won a signed copy of ‘The First Summer’.
Huge thanks to Miss Law for organising such a wonderful day for us all – I can’t wait to return to such a special school.
"I enjoyed asking Tim lots of questions and finding out how to be an author."
"I am looking forward to reading what happens next."
A visit to The Mease Primary School,
Hilton, Derbyshire
WORLD BOOK DAY 2024!!
I was contacted by Charlie, Amelie, Gwen and Amber, who manage the library at The Mease School, to see if I would like to visit on World Book Day so how could I refuse, especially as it’s only 100 yards away from Poppy & Lord Ted HQ!
After an initial meeting to plan the day, I was looking forward to spending WBD 2024 at The Mease School in my home village of Hilton, Derbyshire.
Finally the day arrived and what a great day talking about books, reading and answering brilliant questions. We started the day with a full assembly; the plethora of character and word outfits, with such bright colours was breathtaking so we awarded WBD prizes through the day. The children sang their hearts out to ‘A Million Dreams’ which fitted into the ‘be the best you can be’ theme. It was quite emotional as they sang the words, and it made me realise that the future of our world and humanity is in these children’s hands.
Great kids - thanks for making me feel so welcome, such fun and thank you for all the amazing letters I received at the end of the day. And to Mrs Hart and the teacher family, thank you for all the preparation work. It makes such a difference.
And what a busy book sale at the end of the day queuing out of the door in the cold - thank you!
A visit to High Greave Junior School,
Rotherham, Yorkshire
My first visit to a school in Yorkshire happened to be the brilliant High Greave Junior School in Rotherham, supporting their World Book Day activities.
Our focus was ‘Reading for Pleasure’ with a series of workshops through the day aligning to their great Learners Code. The day started with a full assembly which is always daunting but great fun.
What a fabulous school with the children an absolute credit to their teachers and parents.
Year 6 were a tough crowd, they always are, but other than that it was a breeze with my best school ‘book sales’ to date with parents queuing out of the door to buy a signed copy - wow!!
Thank you High Greave Junior School teachers and staff for making me feel so welcome!
A visit to Brookfield Primary School,
Mickleover, Derby
Wow!! What a day spent at Brookfield’s Primary School in Mickleover, Derby. Out of all the schools I have visited, this stands out as the happiest – children and teachers smiled all day long. It was an absolute pleasure to visit and experience what ‘good’ looks like.
Thanks to Mrs. Smith, Headteacher, the teachers and children were well prepared for the day – each class had read 3-4 chapters and had the best questions prepared. It makes such a difference and adds so much value when the children are already invested in the day.
We started the day with a full assembly and Mrs. Smith had asked me to talk about ‘being the best you can be’ which then flowed through the day as the main theme.
I set Years 1 & 2 a task to create a character for the story and they did not disappoint. Some excellent work with two worthy winners of a signed copy of The First Summer as a prize.
Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 went through my story structure and editing workshops with fun all day.
The children were an absolute credit to the school and their parents, and I have to say the teachers blew me away with their enthusiasm for the day – thank you Mrs. Smith for engaging everyone to be the best it could be.
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And when the day was done children and parents were queuing out of the door to buy a signed copy - wow!
A visit to Horninglow Primary School,
Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
After dropping off over £3000 worth of books for their school library in July '23, I finally managed to spend the day at Horninglow Primary School in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. What a fabulous day but I was exhausted by 3:30pm!
We started with a full school assembly, the first of the school year, where I introduced Lord Ted and talked about what’s happened with the book so far, school values and being an author.
We then visited all the classrooms throughout the day. Every class was well prepared with questions, and we talked about everything from editing work through to my favourite McDonalds meal – no stone was left unturned! We talked at length about what makes a great story, and I was thrilled at the reaction to The Poppy and Lord Ted adventures that the children could relate too.
After school had finished there was a queue to purchase their own personally signed copies of The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted – either ‘The First Summer’ or ‘The Return of Saint Nick’ or both!
What polite and well-behaved children, wonderful school and fun teachers who were so well prepared it made the day so easy and pleasurable; I can’t wait for a return visit.
A visit to Needwood Primary School and Rangemore Primary School, Nr. Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
What a fabulous morning at Needwood Primary and Rangemore Primary schools.
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I was approached by Needwood Primary School, Nr. Burton on Trent, after meeting Owen in March '23, who won a colouring competition we ran at Church Farm Team Rooms & Childrens Farm in Anslow, Staffordshire. His mum, Cat, suggested I visit his school and I finally got the chance! Not only was I asked to visit Needwood Primary but popped along to their sister school at Rangemore too.
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What a greeting I received at Needwood Primary. I got to see Owen again and all his classmates. We had arranged for a ‘meet the author session’ with the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes combined. When I arrived I was shocked to see all the pre-work they had completed around the story using the Poppy and Lord Ted website for their research. They were armed with questions which were both thought provoking and very well planned. What a wonderful experience and lovely to meet Mrs. Perkins at last!
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Then on to Rangemore Primary only a few miles away. Again a ‘meet the author session’ with the Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes combined, and again plenty of great planned questions. But the best part was I was treated to a song. The teaching staff were just brilliant at both schools – thank you for having me.
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What wonderful schools, very polite and well-behaved children that were a credit to their teachers and parents. I hope to return to deliver some workshops with KS2 children next year.
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More pictures to come.
A visit to John of Rollestion Primary School
World Book Day 2023
World Book Day 2023 was such fun at John Of Rolleston Primary School, near Burton on Trent.
Below you can see a picture of some of the children dressing up and receiving their prizes. WBD this year was all about inspiring the children to read and get excited about storybooks; everyone came dressed as their favourite character. Some lucky children got to win a World Book Day ‘I Am A Reader’ enamelled badge – a prized possession indeed – for the work they had done and best dressed.
We started with the reception class for a reading, introduction to Lord Ted and awarded Lord Ted Fab Club badges for the best dressed then moved on to a similar session with Year 1. Year 2 followed but this time we added a very entertaining Q&A to the session.
After lunch I joined Year 3 in the main hall where we enjoyed a more in-depth Q&A followed by awarding the WBD badges for the reading unit they completed using The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted.
A drop in the Year 4 classrooms, where I met up with some familiar faces who I was to bump in to again at the Church Farm Tearooms World book Day event on the following Saturday, proved to be a deep and meaningful Q&A session.
Then the whole of KS2 juniors joined me in the main hall, around 250 of them, where we spoke about writing and editing as well as giving out prizes for the best dressed.
The children were an inspiration – a credit to their teachers and parents.
Thank you for making me feel part of John of Rolleston for the day, a fabulous day all round and I’m looking forward to returning soon; we are planning something that will leave a more permanent legacy about The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted later in the year.
A visit to Woodlands Community Primary School, Tamworth
It’s quite a while since I spent a day at a school, but what a day I had at the brilliant Woodlands Community Primary School in Tamworth, linking up with my great friend Sarah Gill who used to be at the nearby Stoneydelph Primary School.
After a warm welcome and a tour of the school, we started the day with a full assembly for introductions and meeting Lord Ted; everyone was engaged very quickly, which is always a relief; the wonderful teachers had done plenty of preparation and the day was superbly organised by Sarah.
We set the Key Stage 1 children a design challenge to win their own signed copy of The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted – their task is to make or design a new Christmas outfit for Lord Ted and everyone seemed up for the challenge. This will be judged by the new librarians who were more excited than all the KS1 children at the thought of being a judge.
All the Year 3 & 4 classes then joined me, one after the other, in the main hall where we worked together in a ‘Developing a Story Structure’ workshop. After a busy book sale and signing spell at lunchtime, I visited all the Year 5 & 6 classes and conducted a ‘Editing a Story’ workshop. The KS2 years were also set a writing challenge where they can win a copy of the book – they need to write a story on any subject - Years 3 & 4 will be judged on their story structure, Years 5 & 6 on their structure and edited submission.
I really enjoyed my visits across each KS2 class with some wonderful and probing questions in our Q&A sessions. It’s also very humbling to see so many children engaged with what I’m trying to achieve.
I also spent some time with the new librarians and the incredible children of the Junior Leadership team who carried in our donation of over £3,000 worth of books, donated by local people around my local village of Hilton. They, along with the teachers, were visibly shocked and quite emotional to see just how many books £3,000 worth actually looks like and how heavy books are – the librarians will be very busy indeed sorting them all out.
At the end of the day there was a further opportunity to buy a signed copy or two and this time I was shocked to see a long queue out of the main entrance to buy copies – I actually ran out of The First Summer so must order some more to fulfil pre-paid orders – what a successful day!
Then the day just got better when I returned home to find out that both The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted: The First Summer and The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted: The Return of Saint Nick have been chosen as a winner of The Golden Wizard Book Prize for 2022!
What a wonderful school, amazing teaching staff and incredible children who are a credit not only to the school and their teachers, but to their parents too – thank you for making me feel part of the Woodlands family for the day. I look forward to my return in December to present the prizes.
The new librarians and Junior Leadership team with our donation of over £3,000 worth of books, donated by local people around my local village of Hilton.
Redwood - Years 5 & 6 during their 'Editing a story' workshop
At our wedding in May 2023, Mrs. Gill, form teacher of the Redwood Class, pictured here, kindly presented me with a card from the whole class.
As well at it being beautifully designed, the card contained an individual message from everyone in the style of a small book.
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What a wonderful thing to do and it now has pride of place in my office.
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Thanks Redwood!
A visit to Christ Church CEP Academy, Folkstone, Kent
"The children Year 4 had a fantastic time talking with Tim. They enjoyed the question and answer session and can't wait to use his 6 steps to create a successful story"
Clare Carvill, Year 4 Teacher
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"The <author> visit was great. The activity he gave to the children was appropriate for their age and they were all able to take part. Having information and a copy of the pdf in advance was really helpful because the children were really engaged with the whole event. The competition was a great idea as it really motivated the children. The badges were a great success, and many children are still wearing theirs"
Mrs C. Avery, Year 3 class teacher
I finally got to meet the children of the Christ Church Academy in Folkstone; they reached out to me a long time ago. This was my first seaside town school visit with Lord Ted during a week’s holiday in the lovely Kent countryside.
We started the day with a full assembly of 440 children for introductions; it was humbling to hear just how many children have been reading the story. I then set the KS1 Children a character challenge where two lucky children won their own signed copy of The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted; The First Summer!
I then visited the classrooms of Years 3 & 4 where we worked together in a ‘Developing a Story Structure’ workshop and Years 4 & 5 an ‘Editing a Story’ workshop. All years had some great and very challenging questions anything from book related, my favourite colour, favourite McDonald’s meal and what three things would I take to a desert island. And of course everyone received a Lord Ted Fan Club badge.
At the end of the day there was a very successful book sale where the children purchased their very own signed copy.
Thank you to all the teachers and children of Christ Church Academy for such a welcoming and brilliant day.
A visit to Wren Park Primary School, Littleover, Derbyshire
Another new school to add to my growing list - Wren Park Primary School in Littleover, Derbyshire. After all the excitement of the previous week and lots of presentation visits for the competition, it was back to what I love best - talking to children about reading, writing and The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted.
I was following up my book donations at Wren Park Primary School; I provided over £1,500 worth of books for their library late 2021 and it was great to see these in their hall library – but more is needed so I will endeavour to collect additional books in the coming weeks.
After a separate assembly for KS1 and KS2 where I introduced myself and Lord Ted, it was reading and writing workshops for Year 3 and 4 followed by author talks and Q&A with Years 5 & 6.
The day did not disappoint and certainly the most challenging Year 6 questions I have ever faced – Florence, Class 6BP, should certainly consider a future role as a TV interviewer!
Great fun, very well-mannered children – thanks for making me feel welcomed and also stretching me in terms of questions – it was good to see.
A visit to Little Eaton Primary School, Derbyshire
Little Eaton Primary was my destination. I was really looking forward to this visit - another new school with over 250 new faces waiting for us to arrive and it did not disappoint – what a fabulous day. The whole school had been reading The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted: The First Summer last week and were excited about meeting the writer in their school, well Lord Ted anyway.
The day started with a full assembly, all 250 in the hall, where I introduced Lord Ted himself, the inspiration for the story and how this links into the strong school values at Little Eaton. Throughout the day it was clear that these values are well practiced with good manners, politeness and kindness shown in all classes. The children's exceptional manners are a credit to the school and their parents.
We then visited the different year groups, focussing on story telling with the Hawthorns and Beech classes and the editing process for Willow, Sycamore and Oaks classes.
The Acorns and Apple Tree classes were drawing their own teddy bear designs for me to see before I left, and I was quite overwhelmed at the standard of handwriting and drawings for Year 1 – outstanding achievement.
Thank you to all the children, every one of them but especially the ones that helped me navigate my way around the school, supported me in the hall and joined me for school dinners. My thanks also to all the incredible teachers of Little Eaton but especially Mrs. Gardiner for all her help in planning the day – I loved every minute of it. I am looking forward to returning and signing some books in the near future!
A visit to Edge Hill Primary School, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
What an incredible school and wonderful children I experienced at Edge Hill Primary School in Burton - an absolute credit to their school, teachers and parents. Still buzzing after their exciting ‘World Book Day’ the day before, the teachers and children made me feel at home straight away.
We started the day with the hall full of Year 3 & Year 4 pupils introducing Lord Ted and myself. When I walked into my first classroom I was stunned at all the work that has been happening with the book, all the colourful pictures of my different characters, the building of tree houses and fairy houses, the book cover design ideas for my second book, work for the display wall in the main corridor and the preparation for all the questions. I was quite emotional when I saw all the books on desks that needed to be signed and the real excitement around the story - what a day!
In Year 4, when all the excitement calmed down in each class, we worked on ideas to help prepare for the stories they are going to be writing about London and a signed copy of my book is on offer for the best story in each class. Then in Year 3, again after the excitement subsided, we had some excellent Q&A sessions.
I also donated over £2000 worth of books for their reading libraries which will go a long way to supporting these wonderful children with their reading skills.
I collected over 50 entries for our character competition from Edge Hill; the standard was outstanding with so much work and effort with spectacular imaginations and ideas – thank you taking part.
I returned again on 25th March to present some awards at the Year 4 celebration assembly. We had competition finalists and an overall winner from Edge Hill!.
I was so impressed by the class work that had happened using The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted story, from reading, cover designs, character drawings, fairy houses and tree houses (seen below) that each class was presented with and ‘exceptional achievement’ award.
I was also asked to present a writing award – following the workshops I delivered on my first visit, the children were set a task to write a story about London with the focus on structure, punctuation, conflict, and resolution. The winner of each class would receive a signed copy of The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted – well done Daniel, Leo, and Alex for their fabulous work.
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Before I left the children presented me with a thank you poster now proudly displayed by my desk to inspire me with the second book, along with a couple of colourful pictures!
Thank you all for making me feel so welcome at Edge Hill Academy – see you soon!
A visit to Bells Farm Primary School, Birmingham
What an incredible World Book Day Lord Ted and I had a Bells Farm Primary in Birmingham!
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I was re-visiting Bells Farm after my initial visit last year and it was wonderful to meet up with my old friends who are now in Year 5 – The Kestrels – such a fabulous class of children who have all grown about a foot since I last saw them.
Bells Farm has the most wonderful children and teachers that made me very welcome on my first ever school visit as an author, so it was right that we shared World Book Day together.
I also donated over £2000 worth of books for their library supporting the World Book Day theme and children at such a critical time of their education.
The day was spent with every year group from storytelling workshops to the editing process. We started the day with a full school assembly and then I moved around to visit each year group. Years 1 & 2 worked on competition entries while Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 worked on the editing process. I picked up a considerable amount of competition entries so picking a winner is going to be very hard.
Such a brilliant day – the children are such a credit to their school and the teachers and parents should be rightly very proud of them.
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A visit to Church Broughton C of E Primary School, Derbyshire
What a short but fantastic visit to the wonderful Church Broughton C of E Primary School.
I had a tour of the school and saw my book featured in the library which made me very proud which you can see below. I was invited to take the morning assembly to talk about The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted and I was delighted to see just how much the children knew about the story from Reception all the way to Years 5 & 6.
We spoke about ‘Pancake Day’, Traditional Tales, values, storytelling and my competition followed by a very interactive Q&A session.
With this week being ‘World Book Day week’ we spoke about their favourite stories and the shirts they will be designing for the day – my Lord Ted shirt was a great hit.
The children were a credit to their teachers and school, upholding their values; they made me feel very welcome. The school also donated some books towards my quest on supporting schools less fortunate than themselves which was very thoughtful and kind.
Thanks to everyone for such a memorable visit, especially Mrs. Turpin and Mrs. Millington for their support.
A visit to Grange Community School, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
I was certainly looking forward to meeting all the Key Stage 1 children of Grange Community School the day before World Book Day.
A few weeks ago, I donated over £2000 worth of books to the school. Mrs. Cox, Deputy Head Teacher, reached out for support to have enough books for the children to take home to read and we, at Poppy and Lord Ted HQ, could not wait to help. The teaching staff were overwhelmed when they saw just how much we donated all laid out in the staffroom and eagerly took some for their classroom reading areas. I was also looking forward to seeing how far the books have gone to support such a critical stage in a child's education.
After a quick school tour, it was plain to see the books have made such a difference. I had a fantastic morning with the very lively young children in Reception, Years 1 & 2.
It’s easy to engage KS1 children when you talk about Teddy Bears; they were thrilled to meet Lord Ted, draw pictures and listen to further chapters in The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted ready for their Bedtime Story theme for World Book Day.
Thanks for making me feel so welcome and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the World Book Day outfits the children were so excited about.
A visit to Hilton Spencer Academy, Hilton, Derbyshire
What a fabulous visit to Year 3 at my local village school, Hilton Spencer Academy in Derbyshire. A lot of Lord Ted's biggest fans attend the academy and Lord Ted's visit was eagerly anticipated!
After an initial assembly where I introduced Lord Ted and myself, spoke about the book and its values and a very detailed Q&A session, we broke into four 60minute workshops in each class.
We looked at what makes a good story and showed examples of punctuation to bring the telling of a story to life. We then moved to traditional tales and how these have influenced so many good stories through the years; the children were really surprised just how old some of these tales actually are and how they resonate with the values the school promote.
I then asked the children to write one paragraph or list of adjectives that really explains their favourite story, traditional tale, fairy tale or book – what makes it a great story. On offer was a certificate for the best effort to be decided by each form teacher and a signed copy of my book for each class - see below.
We then used elements within The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted to help them prepare for a session later in the week when they are writing a story of ‘what’s behind the door’. Readers of Poppy and Lord Ted will know all about the crooked door, so this helped with some ideas.
It was great catching up with some old friends! I say old, they're 8! They all left happily showing off their Lord Ted Fab Club badges and bookmarks as they went.
I would like to say a huge thank you to Mr. Churn for inviting me, the support in planning and promoting the day and teachers Ms. Patterson, Ms. Wilkes and Ms. Kirkman along with all the support staff too.
Great fun day! Thank you to the children, who showed impeccable manners and kindness through the day and made me feel very welcome.
Hilton Spencer Academy Blurb winners - from left to right - Jordh, Jay, Tilly and Izzy. The teachers decided to keep the book prizes as class books as everyone had worked so hard. The winners each got a special certificate which was presented in their end of half term celebration assembly:
"Year 3 enjoyed a great day with our visiting local author, Mr Tim Jorden, yesterday. Tim, who has written a lovely children’s book called The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted – The First Summer, caught the children’s imagination from the get-go and had them all fully engaged throughout the day. Thorough pre-visit planning and communication with Tim ensured the children really benefitted from his visit and the enthusiasm they put into the work he set for them was incredible. Thank you so much Tim!"
Paul Churn, Head of Year 3, Hilton Spencer Academy
A visit to John of Rolleston, nr. Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
It always brings me great pleasure when I visit new schools and this was just such an occasion, meeting new faces at John of Rolleston, Primary School in Staffordshire.
I would like to say a huge thank you to Headteacher, Mr. Simcox for inviting me and his help in planning and promoting the day along with parents Lottie and Tasha for their support to make it happen. I finally got to meet one of Lord Ted’s biggest fans, Olivia and her little brother Billy too!
We had a packed timetable starting with the reception class and, with the help of 'Mr. Gumpy', we looked at storytelling. In Year 1 we worked with the great 'Poetry in the Box' and I developed a new verse for the children about Lord Ted that led us into what’s great about stories.
With Year 2 we focussed on Traditional Tales, a firm favourite of mine. We looked at how these have changed through the years and how many stories we know today take their inspiration from them. We then worked on using adjectives to describe their favourite tales or stories.
With Year 3, Olivia’s class, we worked on instructional text with the children helping to create a handbook for tooth fairies which was great fun, as well as some great questions and answers.
And finally, Year 4 where the focus was explanation text. Here we used part of the story for the children to explain the process of fairy dust – how’s it made, what is the process and how is it stored – imaginations ran wild.
The competition caused much excitement too across all year groups and I am looking forward to some very imaginative entries.
The children were an inspiration – a credit to their teachers and parents.
Thank you for making me feel part of John of Rolleston for the day – I even got to try school dinners!
“I am one of the lucky teacher's that has been on the receiving end of Tim's amazing work. He has made such an astonishing difference to our library and the way our children can now enjoy a book”
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Mrs. Gill - Stoneydelph Primary School
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