AUTHOR Jon Gilbert visited The Royal Prep School and inspired pupils.

The children in Pre-Prep – from Reception to Year 2 – listened with great excitement as Jon read his fun and informative children’s book Tree Fellas: Olly Oak.

Reception class teacher Sammy Collins said: “We thought it was a brilliant idea that the acorns would play football while the humans weren’t looking, and we could all relate to the sense of achievement felt when reaching a lifetime goal, like Olly winning the FA Cup.

“We rounded off the session with a walk around our woods, trying to find our very own Olly Oaks.

“What a brilliant morning we all had.”

Little Sailors Nursery children at the Royal Prep School also enjoyed story time with Jon, where they learned baby trees are called saplings and were fascinated to hear the secret that ‘trees come alive when children and adults are not watching’.

Following the reading of the story, the children went out to look for oak trees and their very own Olly.

Pupils in Year 4 and 5 were then delighted to host a real-life author in their creative writing club.

Jon was inundated with questions about building a plot, characterisation and what to do when you get writer’s block.

Prep 5 teacher Clare Mee said: “He was keen to hear about what the children were working on.

“He gave tips to Karishma about her mystery novel and chatted with Phoebe and Ellie about what to do when you have too many ideas.

“Jon enjoyed seeing the children’s mind maps for Olly Oak and then he joined us for lunch to chat about all things bookish.

“It was a privilege to spend time with a professional who is inspiring our own young authors.”