NATIONAL Poetry Day at Amesbury saw not only the official opening of the new school library, but also a visit by two top authors.

Helen Dennis of Secret Breakers fame – soon to be a TV series – invited pupils to take the roles of her characters and explore secret codes that tie in with her books.

She also revealed some themed historical nuggets, such as the Bletchley Park codebreaker who came to work in his pyjamas.

Pupils learnt the difference between a code and a cipher, discovering the secrets within some everyday brand logos and on national monuments.

Margaret Bateson-Hill invited Year 4 pupils to explore their ‘secret self’, asking them to choose who they would like to be if the possibilities were endless.

The author then put them into the shoes of the main character in her Dragon Racer series.

She drew Years 1 and 3 into the magical world of her book Lau Lau of Dragon Mountain and thrilled them with some exquisite paper cutting.

Year 2 pupils were transfixed by Masha and the Firebird, while she entertained reception and nursery children by telling them some traditional stories.

Marketing manager Natalie Holmes said: “Across the school, children and staff were taken to mysterious places through magic of quality storytelling.”