On Monday April the 26th Joe Craig, the author of the very successful Jimmy Coates series of books, visited TRS to work with some of our Year 7 students. This was Joe’s third visit to TRS and he made us the great compliment of saying he loves to visit our school as our students are great to work with and he is always well looked after.

The students and staff had loads of fun with Joe who is a very funny man. Here is what they had to say about his visit:

The experience of meeting an author was very good, but people did not act strange, everyone just treated him normally.

I enjoyed the fact that he wasn’t really serious, he was jokey instead.

I learnt the three types of problem he uses which are outer problems, family problems and close or inner problems. This will help me in my school work because it will make me create good stories.

I learned that it will be easier if you plan a story. I would love him to come back.
He taught us many things such as the fact that your draft will be rubbish but you story will come out great if you keep making changes.

I learnt that drafts are really important in a story. He gave us great tips about drafts and how to make a story better and told us in a way that we could understand.

I learnt how to make drafts and how to make really good stories.

He taught us that you can get story ideas from anywhere.

Learning about the different types of problems will help me not waste my planning time.
I think he should visit our school again because he gave most students inspiration to do creative writing.

I learnt creativity because Joe was so creative and it will help me with my drama and how to come up with stories.

I learnt that you have to think about your story and it will come out of somewhere.

After Joe’s visit I can think a bit faster and I am more confident.

I have learnt how to think of a story much quicker by thinking of a problem.
What a great day it was.

I liked how Joe made up the most random stories about rabbits and Russians!

Joe really inspired me to write stories in class.

I really liked how Joe asked us for mad and interesting ideas and put it all in a short story that he told in three minutes.

I am reading one of his books and think it is brilliant, I will read another.

He should come again because he was inspiring and helpful and made me learn things I did not know.

I think he did everything he could to make us all enjoy the session.

He could try to stay for a few more days.

I won one of Joe’s books so I will definitely read it, it looks interesting.

I think he should come back again as everyone has learned from him today.