First time an author visits St Paul's school

Ann Bryant is a well-known children’s author from Kent in the UK and is also a music educator who is specialised in teaching young children from nursery age to year 2. Although she was only in Gibraltar for three days, having her give workshops close to Book Week has been quite special for St Paul’s students, as her timetable is usually fully booked with workshops that she delivers, both in the UK and internationally.

Each workshop was tailored towards each age group and consisted of book-reading, role-play, activities and music and song. Ann Bryant also took part in a book-signing with the children who were also able to buy her books.

This opportunity was organised by St Paul’s music teacher, Mrs Batchelor, who hopes that the interactive workshops inspire her students and enable them with an “understanding of what an author is”.

Mrs Batchelor got to know Ann Bryant at a school music conference in the UK in 2011, back when Ann was writing school curriculum music books and before she became a children’s fiction author. As Mrs Batchelor hopes to retire this year, she decided it would be “lovely for Ann to come out for World Book Day this year” and hopes that the school will continue to bring authors over as she believes they are “important for every subject”.

Headteacher Mrs Hitchcock said about the special visit “It’s a way of the children realising how things come to life because it’s very much performance reading and we’re trying to instil a very literature-rich curriculum in our school... It’s just lovely to have these workshops where the words just come to life and the children see the beauty of what reading is. "This is the first time we have an author coming into school and hopefully not the last time. So far this morning we’ve only had reception but the children were totally mesmerised. She made them assume little characters like beetles and they were mesmerised. This will help them in more than just English, in other aspects of their school life in terms of confidence. "The performance aspect of it is very much a strong element of what we’re trying to do. This is literature coming to life and we’re very much about how literature feeds into everything and it’s just so important for them in 21st century skills of communication, which are so important for when they become the adults of tomorrow.”

On her workshops, Ann Bryant said “It makes them realise that any one of them could be an author...It makes them think big and to see the author and think ‘here’s the author, she’s just a regular person’. I try and bring the books alive for the little ones as you saw with the interactive stuff I did.

"For me it’s just lucky that I happen to be a musician and play the piano so that also helps but I like to think that it ticks the literacy and the music box for these little ones... I love it, especially the older ones. I like Year 5 and Year 6 very much because those children are absolutely avidly hanging onto what you’re saying, if anything chimes at all, and usually it does, then you know they’re wonderful to talk to because they’ve got big imaginations and they’re able to put their views forward and that in time gives me ideas.”

When asked whether she would like to come back next year to hold more workshops, Ann said “Yes. I’m hoping to come back for the Gibraltar Literary Festival actually. I’ve been invited to come back for the festival but that’s not absolutely confirmed yet. So hopefully I’ll be able to come back.”

04-03-19 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR