On Monday 17th October, it was wonderful to once again welcome primary school children from all over London to FHS for Coram Beanstalk‘s BookFest. Thank you to Coram Beanstalk for their work in orchestrating this amazing event, and to our FHS Outreach team and Sixth Form volunteers. Kate from Coram Beanstalk has described the day below:
The Beanstalk BookFest was first hosted by Coram Beanstalk at Francis Holland in 2016 with the aim of bringing the live, interactive author experience to children who might not ordinarily have that opportunity. Although there are children’s literary events springing up all over the country, many cost money and rely on willing and able parents to take their child to such an event. Many schools also struggle with the costs of arranging in-school author talks.
At Coram Beanstalk, we believe that every child has the right to become a reader and experience the pleasure that reading can bring. We know that children who choose to read have better chances in life so it’s important for them to discover how much fun can be derived from a book. And what better way to reinforce that than by allowing them to experience a live event with a real author who can truly bring their stories to life?
We have a wonderful network of author supporters who give their time freely to allow Coram Beanstalk children to have the opportunity to attend a live author event and, thanks to the generosity of Francis Holland School, we are able to invite all of the schools in London with whom we work to bring a group of children at no charge.
On Monday 17th October, we were delighted to welcome children from schools across London to events with Lisa Stickley, Peter Bunzl or Lucy Strange. Over 300 children from Burlington Infant & Nursery School, Christ Church Battersea, St. Alban’s Primary School, Torriano Primary School, Pooles Park Primary School, Brecknock Primary School, ARK Globe Academy, St Anne & Guardian Angela Primary, Broadfields Primary School and St Barnabas Primary School were not only treated to some fantastic author talks but thanks to donations from one of our corporate partners, Addleshaw Goddard LLP, and Scholastic Books, every child who attended the day was able to take away a signed copy of the authors books and an extra book of their choice.
We were grateful to the volunteers from Addleshaw Goddard and to the Sixth Formers from Francis Holland who helped out on the day to make sure it ran as smoothly as possible.
It was a joy to see the children so engaged with all the authors and so enthused about their books.
One school sent us a message to say:
“We just wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The children had a wonderful afternoon and were bursting to tell their parents all about their day! The staff and pupils at Francis Holland School were also so warm and welcoming – we couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”
Coram Beanstalk is always looking for volunteers to become reading helpers to work one-to-one with children in primary schools across London. If any parents would be interested in finding out more, we’d love to hear from them https://www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk/register-now
