Beetle Boy author visits Bury school

M.G. Leonard, author of the Beetle Boy series, visited the school on April 25.

Thomas Moore, headteacher, said: “Our whole school has been looking at the topic of local beetles, and the children have been reading about insects and also looking at Beetle Boy for inspiration.

“M.G. Leonard came to the school to talk about how she became an author, what she does, and how hard she has to work, before leading workshops with the children.

“She worked with the pupils to help them plan a story with a beetle in it.

“She also stayed after school to speak to the staff as part of their professional development event, giving advice for being a better teacher and giving some really good tips.

“One thing I think the pupils found really helpful was her suggestion that to describe something well, you must have some knowledge about it. This encouraged the pupils to use scientific vocabulary.

“She also told them that before writing Beetle Boy, she was really afraid of insects. She overcame her ignorance by learning about them, and I she learned more the fear got less and less. This was good for the children to hear, and they were encouraged to think about terminology adds to this - calling insects ‘creepy crawlies’, for example.

“We had lots of feedback from the students, who really enjoyed the day - they appreciated getting to share their stories with M.G. Leonard.”

Pupils from Easbourne School also attended the event at Bury CE Primary School.