Morris Gleitzman made time for an important appointment with the Claires Court Senior Girls during a rare visit to the UK. Morris is an internationally acclaimed author of more than 40 children’s books covering a wide range of subjects and characters. During his visit he talked about  his series of stories about Felix and Zelda who had to endure the horrors of war in war-torn WW2 Europe: Once, Then, Now, After and his latest instalment, Soon. Morris read excerpts from the new novel and provided insights into how he came to write the series. As always, the Senior Girls had many questions for the author, particularly on the creative writing process and the source of his ideas.

The second author to visit on Wednesday was Award-Winning and Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Megan Rix (and her lovely dog Bella!).

Megan talked to Junior Girls and Boys about her books, dog training and the all heroic achievements dogs have made during times of war and adversity.  All Megan’s books focus on ordinary animals doing extraordinary things and her presentation focussed on the work of assistance dogs; Hearing Dogs, Guide Dogs, Dogs for Good and even Assistance Ponies! Her latest book ‘Echo Come Home’ tells the story of a young stray trained as a hearing dog and the relationship formed between him and a young boy with hearing loss. Bella the dog showed off her own assistance skills on the day, fetching keys and picking up lost items… she even proved she can be trusted to pick up dropped books!

James Golding, Year 5 pupil said, "We really loved finding out how dogs can help us".

Author and Former pupil at Claires Court, Eleanor Wood came to the Senior Girls assembly on Thursday 3 March, officially World Book Day. Eleanor gave a lively, fun and inspiring talk to the girls about being an author and all the many ways a writer can transform ideas and experiences into writing inspiration. Eleanor was pleasantly surprised to find former headteacher Mrs Pitts and former maths teacher, Mrs Sheila Perkins at the School to hear her talk . The School had invited them as Eleanor acknowledges all the support and encouragement given to her by her teachers in her latest novel, 'My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend'.  Before she left, Eleanor took a walk down memory lane visiting old form rooms and meeting her former teachers.

Paula Copeman, Girls Librarian who organised the event said;

“There is no better way to celebrate World Book Day than talking about books and reading... so who better to start this conversation, than an author?!

From stories of war-torn Europe to Glastonbury festival heartbreak, there's a book out there for everyone. It has been a really great week so a huge thank you to the help of librarians Lesley Kirkup and Helen Davies, for helping make it such a great success!”