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 pupilAuthor 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 booksTom 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. Some have never been in a bookshop and see the vast array that is on offer.

"So when they walked into the hall to find over 100 books on display, neatly lined up with their names on a signed copy, their faces said it all.

"The highlight for me, as a teacher, was listening to his planning sequence. Who knew a strip of wallpaper could be such an important tool in a writer’s toolkit? It made me think about my practice and the changes we could start to trial in school.

All of the pupils with Tom Palmer All of the pupils with Tom Palmer (Image: CARNAGILL PRIMARY SCHOOL)

"An author can take a year to write a book – so why do we expect a child to write a story in a couple of English lessons? He gave all of us food for thought."

Alongside hearing from the author, children also got to ask Mr Palmer some questions.

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Sarah added: "The children never gave up wanting to learn more, absorbing every piece of information. We were honoured to vote for the possibility of a title for his new book, with a serious discussion about what a bog princess was and if anyone would read a book with that title. 

"There were moments of silence when Tom produced some genuine WW1 artefacts, to laughter when children thought his picture of Audrey Hepburn was his wife.

"One determined child, after learning that Tom’s books have not been made into films, told me he will be googling film directors this weekend and telling them they should turn one of his books into a mega movie.

"There would be a queue to watch that at Catterick Garrison."