On Tuesday 3rd March, 15 Year 9 pupils visited North London Collegiate School to attend a talk by award-winning and Carnegie-nominated children’s and YA author Sufiya Ahmed.

Sufiya shared her inspiring journey to becoming a writer, offering valuable insight into the realities of life as an author. Pupils learned how she develops her ideas, finds inspiration, and transforms these into published books.

During lunch, our students had the wonderful opportunity to meet Sufiya in a more informal setting. They asked thoughtful questions and enjoyed listening to her read an extract from one of her works.

This was a truly enriching experience for our pupils, providing them with a deeper understanding of the writing process and inspiring a greater enthusiasm for reading and creative writing.

Mrs L Williams, Librarian

 

 

 

 

 

 

During periods two to five, I went on a trip to North London Collegiate School as part of a small group of students. We went there to listen to an author talk about her books and her experience as a writer. One of the main things she spoke about was forced marriages, which is the topic of one of her books. She explained the ideas behind her stories and where her inspiration came from. This made her work easier to understand and more interesting to listen to. You could tell she really cared about what she writes about.

She also talked about following your passions. She explained that sometimes the things we enjoy or want to do in the future might not be what our families expect from us. Even so, she said it is still important to keep those dreams and not give up on them. She suggested that people can get a stable job first, but still work towards what they really want to do. Overall, I found the trip interesting and useful. It helped me understand more about writing and also made me think about my own future and what I might want to do. It reminded me that it is important to keep working towards the things you care about.

Hephzibah 9R