Tuesday 19 June 2012 Primary pupils from Leeds and Ilkley spent a day at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) with bestselling author GP Taylor, learning how to create their own page turners by drawing on personal experiences. For his latest work Scarborough author GP (Graham) Taylor has returned to the Yorkshire coast, bringing the vampire story back to its roots with the Whitby based ‘Vampyre Labyrinth’ trilogy. By encouraging the children to think about the people and places they know best Graham helped them use their experiences to develop book ideas, from character to cover design, and entertained them with his own stories. Graham said, “I visit 100 schools a year to promote creative reading and writing. The main aim is to enthuse children about the wonder of books and the power of reading, while unleashing their creativity in a non-curricular way.” Year 5 pupils from four local primary schools – Carr Manor and Hollybush in Leeds and Ashlands and Ben Rhydding in Ilkley – together with GSAL’s own Junior School took part in the day. Sarah Posnett, who works at Hollybush Primary with Year 5, said, “The children were all engrossed; they enjoyed hearing Graham’s stories and where he gets his ideas from. He bases his stories on true experiences and develops them – the children can think of something that has happened to them and develop it from there.” Lucy, Carr Manor pupil, said, “It’s been a fun day, he was funny talking and teasing us. I got lots of ideas from him. I like writing stories and I read lots of books.” Charlotte, GSAL Junior School pupil, said, “We learnt about making character profiles by listing ten positive and ten negative things about each character.” General Primary News
