Ana Sampson and Chris Riddell signing
Alex Milway
Rob Biddulph
“Alex Milway was animated and engaging for the children and that they really loved his sessions -Hopefully he has inspired some of our children to be future writers and illustrators!”
Lindsay Galvin at Howard of Effingham School
“I wanted to send a HUGE, HUGE thank you... the children were so excited to tell me about their master class sessions with Emma and Jonny They were very inspired!
All the staff commented on how patient and kind the artists were, and we were all so blown away that each child was given a named and signed copy of their books- this was incredible and we are truly so thankful for it.
I cannot begin to express my thanks enough to you all for your effort in organising this and everyone’s time that they had provided us.
This experience is something our children (and staff) will truly treasure. ”
Our Schools Programme
Opening books. Inspiring minds.
We bring authors and illustrators into local schools to engage and encourage young readers.
Our schools programme offers the opportunity for pupils from both Primary and Secondary state schools to meet some of the very best authors and illustrators face to face.
It aims to inspire a love of reading, writing and illustrating among young people that will stay with them for a life-time, hopefully inspiring the authors of the future.
This year the Guildford Book Festival has visited over 5,000 school pupils across Surrey and worked with over 19 schools. This year we continued our series of illustration workshops for budding artists with illustrators; Yuval Zommer, Jonny Duddle, Emma Dodd and Jonny Lambert.
Authors and illustrators that have visited this year include: Ally Sherrick, Ash Bond, Lucy Reynolds, Katie Hickey and Nathanael Lessore, Jack Meggitt-Phillipps, Sarah Merrett, Cathy Faulkner, Catherine Cawthorne and Maisie Chan.
A big thank you to all the teaching staff involved in supporting these events and the schools for creating such a wonderful atmosphere.
“Thank you so much for organising Rob to come to Northmead this morning - I could hear children telling their parents all about it when walking up the drive at the end of the day... We are now trying to work out how best to display Rob’s masterpiece!
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Planning for next year’s school programme has already started and due to high demand we are prioritising our existing, local state schools. Events will run throughout the year and home-educated children are welcome to join in these sessions.
We are not taking on any new schools at the moment but if you are home-schooling and would like your child to join in a local session, please contact: alexandrews@guildfordbookfestival.co.uk.
“Thank you so much - the children were absolutely buzzing afterwards and said it was ‘the best day of their life!’ A really wonderful experience for them - thank you so much for organising it for us.”
“I’ve heard about reluctant readers who have demanded that their parents buy all the Investigator books in the series. These visits have a massive impact on reading at school - One inspirational person talking about their journey and their book has more impact than many weekly library visits.”
“Thank you all so much for AM Dassu’s visit on Friday. The children really enjoyed it and gained a huge amount from the experience. Please do pass on my particular thanks to AM Dassu for the energy and compassion she transmitted to the students.”
Schools involved this year...
Park Mead Primary School, George Abbot School, Glebelands School, Tillingbourne Junior School, Holy Trinity Pewley Down School, Ewhurst Infants, Wonersh & Shamley Green, , Weyfield Primary, St Peter's Catholic School, Kings College, Howard of Effingham, Guildford High School, RGS, Longacre, Burpham Primary, Losely Fields, West Clandon Primary, Kings College, Rodborough, Guildford Grove, Northmead, Sandfield and Busbridge Infants.
“I really love the excitement generated by the author visits - the children’s faces are GREAT to watch”
