Lower School pupils are regularly encouraged to write creatively as part of their English studies and we love publishing extracts of their work in our annual Norvicensian magazine. This year, we decided to go one step further and give our pupils the purpose, power and pleasure of seeing their stories published in full, in a dedicated book simply titled Norwich Lower School Book of Short Stories.

To ensure they were definitely writing for pleasure, our children were invited to submit stories written in their own time, so there was no obligation to take part. Our only stipulation was that the story had to make sense and not be too violent! We were thrilled with the submissions.

Since this is the platinum jubilee year, we had a wealth of stories based upon royalty both current 
(did you know the Queen keeps an ice-cream van in her handbag and has practised martial arts against assassination plotters?) and past (Edward IV, Henry VIII) and others were based upon precious metals and gems in the form of lost wedding rings, talking emeralds and hidden pirate treasure. Time-travelling was also popular and we were impressed with descriptions of the past and future. Our pupils' love of animals and concern for their future was also very much evident in these imaginative and passionate stories. 

The book is also peppered with beautiful illustrations from the authors and our younger writers, whose stories are published in their own handwriting, worked particularly hard to present their work with pride and care.

What a glimpse into the vibrant imaginations of children this book has proved to be! I am certain that this publication will prove to be the first of many for some of our pupils and I will keep an eye on the bestsellers' list in the years to follow for familiar names. Remember, you saw them here first!