Andy is a frequent visitor to schools, offering a range of lively, exciting performances, talks and workshops. As a former teacher, Andy is very experienced at handling children and is used to working with KS1, 2 and 3. Visits can be centred on poetry or non-fiction books (or a mixture) and can be tailored to meet the needs of the school.

Here is some recent feedback from schools and libraries:

'The children had a great day being entertained and joining in with Andy.' Karen Swift, teacher at Thornton Dale Primary School

'The boys who came back from the workshops were buzzing!' Lindsay Miller, North Yorkshire English Adviser

'Brilliant start to the celebrations in school for World Book Day ... Andy was just as good with all the classes and managed to keep it interactive even when he worked with 2 classes at a time!' English co-ordinator, Scholes J&I School

'Brilliant, excellent and great fun.' Children from Thornton Dale Primary School

'It was a pleasure to watch Andy develop the children's abilities.' Jan Hepworth, North Yorks Library Service

'Andy inspired the children to show an enthusiasm for reading that wasn't there before.' Brenda Hooper, North York Library Service

'Thank you so much for the visit - we all had a great day.' Heather Russell, teacher Spennithorne Primary School

'Thank you so much for the workshops you gave to our children. They were extremely well received and clearly much enjoyed.' Julia Elliott, Headteacher, Dringhouses Primary School

 

Poetry performances

Andy specialises in fun interactive poetry sessions for ages 4-13 where children get the chance to join in a range of poems. He is also available for special events such as National Poetry Day and to run poetry writing activities with classes or groups. Please contact Andy to discuss your requirements.

 

Miscellany Workshops

For something a bit different aimed at children aged 9-13 Andy runs workshops based on his successful miscellany How to Spot a Hadrosaur in a Bus Queue. These sessions give children a chance to create their own miscellany pages working in groups. He also explains how the book came to be written and 'performs' some of the best bits. Great fun! Read Andy's TES article about the workshops here.

 

Storytelling

Andy often includes a story with his visit and can guarantee to capture the children's attention with various dramatic tales tailored to different age groups. Andy also specialises in enthusing children about books and reading, boys in particular.

 

Tell me more

If you'd like a visit to fit in with a special project or theme then do contact Andy to discuss your requirements. There is more detailed information about Andy's school visits at www.contactanauthor.co.uk/authorpage.php?id=615.

Andy also gives talks and performances for adult audiences such as after-dinner speaking engagements and festival readings. Further details here.

 

Watch a video

Andy works with the national charity the Children's Discovery Centre to visit schools all over the UK. He was recently involved with a project about the transition from primary to secondary school called Making the Change and CDC made a two videos of Andy to introduce this work. You can watch these on Youtube:

 

 

 

 Teachers: want to encourage reading in your primary school? Here are some suggestions (PDF download)