Schools testimonials

“Nick’s voyage to Easter Island really inspired and motivated the children and immediately caught their imagination…  I would have no hesitation in recommending him to fellow teachers.” Janey Ross, P6 Class teacher, Sighthill Primary School, Edinburgh

“Nick Thorpe’s workshop was fantastic – down to earth, eye-opening and lots of great tips on how to start writing. I learned a lot.” 17-year-old student at Edinburgh Higher English conference

“Nick gave the pupils a real-life reason to write and try out new things and take chances.” P5 class teacher, Flora Stephenson Primary School, Edinburgh

“During his day’s writing residency with us, Nick packed in a brilliant cross-curricular Geography and English presentation for Year 8 and offered consultations in the library to guide students’ reading. Most significantly, he provided one-on-one tutorials to our Sixth Formers – giving our students high-quality and individualised feedback from the perspective of a professional writer. Thank you so much, Nick! Your contribution was greatly appreciated.” Hannah Lake, English department, Tiffin Boys’ School, Kingston

“Thankyou so much! The boys really loved the talk.” John Slater, head of upper sixth, Hampton Grammar School

“I was extremely impressed with his ability to engage pupils, and inspire them with the details and excitement of the voyages he had undertaken. Working in a truly interdisciplinary way across curriculum areas Nick… used the adventure elements from his own experiences of exploration as a particularly useful tool for engaging boys. Nick can work across the age range and led a workshop at an English Higher creative writing conference where the feedback was extremely positive from pupils. He uses his own expertise as a writer to draw out the best and most inspiring creative writing from children and young people.” Cerin Richardson, former Principal Officer for Arts and Learning, City of Edinburgh Council

“It broadened their horizons and exposed them to new people and places… A fantastic project.” Elanor Shanks, P6 Class Teacher, Canal View Primary, Edinburgh

“I was lucky enough to hear Nick Thorpe speak at the Borders Book festival… and his audience of very varying ages were wide eyed and totally rapt. I wished my grandsons had been there; meeting a real live (and very modest) adventurer would have thrilled them to bits. It’s the way Nick tells his stories … he’s funny and informative, and never boring. Both boys and girls were falling over themselves to ask questions; he is educational in the best kind of way – inspirational would be a better word.” Vivian French, children’s author

“When we did the Haikus it was fun, because I like riddles… doing the navvy stories was good because we got to pretend we were navvies… It was all really fun and I wish we could do it again.” Emma (11), Canal View Primary School

Check out Nick’s online schools profile at the Scottish Book Trust

Contact Nick *  View schools case study * Printable schools PDF flyer

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