More feedback from schools I’ve

visited:

“A thoroughly enjoyable day with fun-packed sessions with demonstrations. The children (and staff) found the interactions inspiring and were keen to get writing. Thank you Antony!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Lyndsey Frost, North Ormesby Primary Academy “Really good, made me want to read his books.” “I enjoyed listening to his story, he made up his own story.” “Children really engaged, they had lots of questions and the children were intrigued by his books.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Vicki Pattison, Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy, Scarborough “The children loved the question & answer session. All pupils had the chance to work with Antony throughout the day and the older pupils really enjoyed creating their own stories.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Lynsey Briddock, Mickley First School “We really enjoyed the assembly and the workshops were inspirational. The children are loving your books and, as a result, loving reading!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Abi Clay (Headteacher), Topcliffe C of E Academy “Antony was very accommodating and tailored the workshops to our requirements. The children responded well to him. No moment was wasted. The workshops were exciting and fun! The children wanted to continue writing the next day.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Jayne Wallace, Farne Primary School, Newcastle “Thank you so much for the fantastic two days that we had with you! Both Y4 and Y5 had a fantastic time. There are a few ‘anti-writers’ within those classes and you kept them engaged - and excited about writing! Thank you - I will recommend you to colleagues and I’m sure we will be in touch to re-book again!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mrs Jo Caufield, St. Joseph’s RC Primary School, Halifax “I would highly recommend Antony. He was in our school last term and the children from yr-y6 were so inspired by him! They love reading his books and the activities he did with our children were excellent!” Clare Taylor, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Peterlee “The activities were great and Antony was approachable and knowledgeable. The children enjoyed his visit and wanted to read more! It’s really important that our children know that author is a job to which they can aspire, and Antony conveyed that really well.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” KS2 staff, Cheviot Primary School, Newcastle “The children loved daydreaming and not getting into trouble for it. Some of our reluctant writers said they enjoyed 5 minutes of non-stop writing because they didn’t have to worry about punctuation etc. The children were also beaming with the books they’d bought and the personal messages you had written.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Claire Dobson, Beaconhill Primary School, Cramlington, 9/2/22 “The expression you put into the characters made the storytelling enjoyable.” Y6 pupil; “The oral story telling session had the children hooked from the start and oin the edge of their seats wanting to know how it ends. Great inspiration for their own story writing next term.” Y6 teacher; “A thought-provoking session that inspired the children to generate their own descriptive writing. Great use of visual prompts.” Y3 TA. Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Worsley Mesnes Primary School, Wigan, 31/1/20 “Pupils were enthused and energised by Antony’s dynamic approach to free writing. Children requested to finish their writing and one pupil who had previously been a reluctant writer asked to take his story home to complete.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Sam Smith, Sedgefield Primary School, 16/10/19 “Our children had a wonderful day with Antony. Different year groups enjoyed a variety of activities but ultimately, they had fun reading. Antony had them all engaged: they were reading and laughing, telling jokes and writing stories. We will definitely invite him back. Thank you!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Leanda Craft, St Gregory’s, Stockton-On-Tees, 13/6/19 “Informed, educational, enthusiastic, entertaining, humorous, engaging.” “A fantastic storyteller.” “The children were engaged in the activities and mesmerised by Antony’s story telling.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Various teachers at Christ Church CE Primary School, Surbiton, 17/5/19 “A fantastic day! The children were very engaged and enthusiastic. All children were able to produce work as it was scaffolded for those children that needed it. Thank you for a great day.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Debbie Hancock, Reid Street Primary School, Darlington, 8/3/19 “The children all enjoyed the session and they were all amazed by your story telling skills. […] they were so engaged when you took them on the adventure. […] They have written some lovely recounts about the morning.” Children’s comments: "He took us through a land full to the brim with many mythical lands: castles, villages, forests and more. From getting swallowed by sea monsters and coming face to face with hairy trolls, we were overwhelmed by the excitement in each of Anthony's stories at every edge of the map." "I would definitely recommend the author to visit other schools as it was interesting and helps your writing!" "At 11:30 the session was over, I felt really sad because it was so much fun. When I went home, I started to write my own story." "Then the fun began, we had the chance to become 'adventurers'. With great enthusiasm, we started the expedition - I felt like I was going to burst with excitement." Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Sarah Dawson, Huntington Primary Academy, York, 17/1/19 “The sessions were really engaging with a wide range of different strategies used to inspire the children. All of them went away buzzing with enthusiasm and new writing ideas. Anyone who can inspire children to be confident writers is a star in my eyes! Thank you for an amazing day!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Lorraine Pattinson, Assistant Headteacher, Halterworth Primary School, Romsey, 16/11/18 “An inspirational visit to school, which has enthused and motivated children to write.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Errington Primary School, Redcar, North Yorkshire, 17/10/18 “An absolutely fantastic day for our children. Some great writing produced and ‘food for thought’ for us as teachers. Thank you so much!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Alison Stelling, Mortimer Primary School, South Shields, 11/10/18 “The children were inspired by a visit from a real life author (especially some of our boys) and your honesty and engaging stories about being an author made it seem like an achievable goal for them. The quality of vocabulary and descriptive writing achieved in such a short amount of time was amazing and gave every child a sense of achievement and success.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Janette Southern, Worsley Mesnes Primary School, Wigan, 3/10/18 “Brilliant! A great morning had by all! Engaged the children who aren’t keen to write and are usually very reluctant! Also gave a lot of ideas for me to use as a teacher for creative writing and getting the most out of all the children! Thank you!!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Miss Harvey, Berwick Hills Primary School, Middlesbrough, 6/7/18 “Thank you for your interesting and inspirational visit to our school. Both staff and children got so much from it. We particularly loved the daydream writing supported with helpful phrases from you which the children could ‘magpie’, ensuring every child wrote something substantial in just five minutes. Many of the children are enjoying the reading books they purchased from you. Our class novel, ‘A Tiger Too Many’, is going down very well and is causing much discussion amongst the children. Again, a big thank you, and keep up the good work!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” M. Lightfoot and L. Crombie, Hebburn Lakes Primary School, 10/5/18 “The limericks session was a huge success - pupils inspired to write more in the same style. The adventure session had pupils hooked on your every word. Their ideas for games were fantastic - this could make a full half term of work! The session with Y6 gave them hope at this tricky stage - they can write some amazing stuff.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Nic Dunn, Helmsley CP School, on 18/4/18 “Really good day that inspired the children to not only be creative and think about the adventure genre but also how to expand their written language in interesting, descriptive ways.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mr Stephenson, Bullion Lane Primary School, Durham, on 2/5/18 “Antony engaged the children well with his fun, animated approach to delivering his workshop.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Theresa Brindley, St Martin’s CE Primary School, Fangfoss, on 28/3/18 “It was the perfect time of year for you to visit: the children had built confidence and pace prior to the visit - the input inspired them to truly demonstrate their skills. Since then, they are writing with more enthusiasm, which has resulted in quality, quantity and fun!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Miss Thornton, Highcliffe Primary School, on 22&23/2/18 “The workshops were well-pitched for Y4, 5, 6 and the children enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions. They were very interested to find out about the writing process.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Dean Bank Primary School, on 29/1/18 “An excellent session - the children were really engaged and enthused. I have since done a lesson based on the writing part of the session - the results were amazing!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Hayley Garforth, Hornsea Primary School, on 10/1/18 “Fantastic. Everyone LOVED it. Fascinating insight into writing/authors.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Neil Richmond, Stobhillgate First School, on 23/11/17 “The children loved it. They loved hearing from a ‘famous’ person!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mrs Dunn, Whale Hill Primary School, on 12&13/10/17 “Another fantastic day! The buzz around the school has been excellent, the children and staff have been enthusiastic and everyone gained a lot from the day. We will be able to use and incorporate what we have done today into our curriculum work. Thank you.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Chrissie Shiels, Keldmarsh Primary School, on 28/9/17 “Antony was great. He provided the children with a wonderful insight into his stories and had some very helpful strategies to ignite their creative writing brains! Thank you very much for visiting. We all enjoyed the day!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Amy Lackenby, Malton CP School, on 14/9/17 “I had several very positive comments at the end of the session. We will probably re-visit the final activities next week and take it into further writing. Thanks.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Rob Hutt, Glaisdale Primary School, Whitby, on 14/7/17 “An excellent day as ever. We hope to have you back again next year!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Tracey Cunningham, Outwood Academy, Ripon, on 20/6/17 “It was excellent for our young readers to meet the author, improve their passion for reading and raise their aspirations.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Helen Moad, Hedworth Lane Primary School, Tyne and Wear, on 24/5/17 “All the children were inspired by Antony’s love of writing and reading which he positively shared with everyone in school.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mrs Jones, Bolton-on-Swale Primary School, Richmond, on 29/3/17 “The children had a brilliant day!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Laura Urwin, St Pius X RC VA Primary School, Consett, on 17/3/17 “The children really enjoyed your sessions, especially the Year 6 classes who enjoyed learning how to write limericks. Very engaging sessions.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mrs Finlay, Reid Street Primary School Darlington, on 1/3/17 “The day started with one author and finished with a class full! Antony's rapport with the children was instantaneous. They were captivated by his story telling and motivated to write after the exciting activities that all children fully engaged in. 'Awesome, Class, Amazing, Fabulous...' were some of the words used by the children to describe their day as they left the class with signed copies of his books eager to start writing their own.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Miss Barningham, Bullion Lane Primary School, Chester-le-Street, on 8/2/17 “Antony was fantastic at firing up the children’s imaginations and inspiring them to use their ideas.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mrs Auton, Brougham Primary School, Hartlepool, on 9/12/16 “All sessions were fantastic and have created a ‘buzz’ in school. Children were keen to do more with the writing they produced in the sessions. Buying the books has been particularly inspiring - children have been keen to share what they have read. Many are inspired to write more because they could understand you as ‘an author is a real person’! Many thanks for everything. The day was fab and really easy to organise.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Chrissie Shiels, Keldmarsh Primary School, Beverley, on 4/11/16 “Staff were very impressed. Sessions were adapted for a range of needs and we loved how you worked so quickly with what you saw in the class and what the children asked. The children are so excited to write their own poetry for you - a signed copy will be sent along for you soon!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Jen Gray, St Oswalds RC Primary School, Newcastle, on 7/10/16 “Great activities and I’ve pinched the ‘thinking sentences’. The children are all walking around making up limericks.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Christine Otto, Assistant Head Teacher, Whitecliffe Primary School, Carlin How, on 14/10/2016 “Teachers commented that the writing activity was brilliant. The ELA / INA (International New Arrival) class said the session was very good and they were pleased to be part of it.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Atkinson Road Primary Academy, Newcastle, on 30/10/2016 “Staff said all pupils enjoyed the sessions - one teacher particularly liked the ‘sentence’ idea. All impressed that you marked the children’s work! And the children commented on it too.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” All year 4/5 teachers, Malton Community Primary School, North Yorkshire, on 26/10/2016 “Antony shared some useful strategies for writing with my class of Year 4 / 5 children. They all learnt something from the session and so did I!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Claire Brockway, Malton CP School, on 26/9/2016 “Children loved the visit and were inspired to write. One child helped a reluctant writer to put up her hand and participate. Thank you for a lovely day.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Clare Coulson, St Richard’s RC Primary School, Wigan, on 16/09/2016 “The class were gripped from the start, all were involved and you have inspired young children to write. You captured the imaginations of a full class.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Marie Parkins, Y6 Teacher, Lindhead School, Scarborough on 15/7/16 “Excellent day. The Year 6 students really enjoyed the event. They all remained focused, interested and entranced. Look forward to another visit soon I hope!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Tracey Cunningham, Outwood Academy, Ripon, on 21/06/2016 “An excellent session, which resulted in a change of [the teacher’s] approach in the afternoon lesson. Antony inspired a number of reluctant writers to produce some lovely work.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Mr P. Armstrong, Airy Hill Primary School, Whitby, on 13/5/2016 “Antony’s sessions were extremely inspiring and the children thoroughly enjoyed working with him. It was amazing to see what writing they had produced at the end of the lesson. Thank you Antony!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Anna Aspery, Kirkbymoorside CP School, on 29/4/2016 “Antony came to my school today and has really inspired me to write, I used to think it was boring but he taught me u can make anything fascinating if u use your imagination even an old mirror or a dead tree! Thanks Antony!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Becca, a pupil, from Stockton, on 26/2/2016 “An exciting and innovative day for the pupils and staff! Children enjoyed the sessions and participated with enthusiasm. Thank you.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Sharon Weston, Teesville Primary School, on 15/1/2016 “Very enjoyable to listen to. Enthused children to write lovely imaginative stories. His ideas can be developed in classroom later on.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Fiona Motteu, Danby C of E Primary School, on 6/11/15 “All children were engaged and happy to write even on a Friday afternoon. Thank you.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Clare Haynes, Goathland Primary School, on 6/11/15 “What a fantastic day we have had! The children were really enthused by your visit and are so keen to carry on with some of their stories next week! Thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you back in school another time!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Becky Atkinson from Hunmanby Primary School, on 9/10/2015 “A really big thank you from all the staff and students who were lucky enough to be part of your visit. The students were all still talking about your visit the following week. They definitely enjoyed 'There was an old fellow from Skye.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Jenny, Librarian from Eskdale School, on 5/10/2015 “Thank you so much for an excellent day, which captivated the whole of Key Stage 2 and has inspired some fabulous work!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Anna McClurey from St. Joseph's R.C. Primary, Norton, on 09/07/2015 “All of our children were so excited to take part in the sessions and to ask lots of questions. Our Year 5/6 children loved creating limericks and were inspired to write throughout all sessions. A really enjoyable experience.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Kathryn Wright, Literacy Co- Ordinator, Our Lady of Lourdes, Shotton, on 18/2/2015 “Awesome, exciting and cool, are just some of the words the children used to describe your visit. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all the class, they have been inspired to read more and become more creative in their writing using some fantastic ideas that you developed with them. Thank you for encouraging and inspiring some brilliant pieces of work.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Laura Little, Oakridge CP School, Hinderwell, North Yorkshire, on 13/2/2015 “The boys seemed especially enthralled and all the children had so many questions to ask.” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Philippa, Librarian, Sleights School, on 30/1/15 “Thank you for enthusing my class of year 4 and 5. You captured all the children's imaginations and I was so pleased to see that even my most reluctant writers were contributing so enthusiastically to the day. We would love you to come back again next year to do some more workshops..... Also, you must let us know when your next book is published!” Would you recommend Antony to other schools? “Yes” Kathryn Smith, Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School, Barnsley, on 22/6/2012