Royal Hospital School Hosts Literary Festival for Local Primary Schools
The Royal Hospital School (RHS) in Holbrook, Suffolk, recently hosted an unforgettable Literary Festival (LitFest) for 170 Year 5 pupils from local primary schools.
These schools included Holbrook Primary School, Littlegarth, Lawford Primary School, East Bergholt, St. Philomena’s, and Stutton Primary, sparking creativity and excitement in every young participant.
The event kicked off with an incredible guest appearance from Cressida Cowell, the renowned author of How to Train Your Dragon. Cressida captivated the young audience with a fascinating talk about her writing journey and the inspiration behind her globally celebrated books. Pupils were also thrilled to meet Cressida in person, with the exciting opportunity to have their books signed and engage in conversation with the author herself.
Following Cressida’s inspiring presentation, pupils took part in a carousel of engaging, hands-on activities designed to bring the How to Train Your Dragon world to life.
These activities included:
- Creating Your Own Dragon with Science – A fun, interactive exploration of dragon biology!
- Drama – Learning how to train a dragon through performance.
- Minecraft – Building the ultimate dragon shelter in a virtual world.
- Library Treasure Hunt – A thrilling search for hidden clues throughout the library.
- DT – Designing and crafting fire-breathing dragons. In this workshop, pupils worked with card, paper and foam to design and create their favourite dragon from the book. They used tubing and tissue paper to give the effect that their design was breathing fire.
- PRE – An exploration into the ethics of 'what makes a good leader?' and religious beliefs about dragons.
Nicole Burns, Librarian at Royal Hospital School, commented on the success of the event, saying:
“I couldn't be happier with how well the Literary Festival went! The energy and enthusiasm from everyone was amazing. Pupils were captivated by Cressida’s talk, and I think both children and adults walked away feeling their own creative spark ignited. The buzz of excitement continued through the carousel activities, and the day ended on a high with a special prize for the bookmark competition winner.”
A special congratulations to the pupil from Lawford C of E Primary School who won a complete set of How to Train Your Dragon books in the bookmark competition. The prize was a wonderful way to end a day filled with imagination and inspiration.
March 2025