Year 2 have been very lucky to have their work reviewed by travel writer Simon Calder.
Simon Calder is Britain’s leading travel commentator and is known as “the man who pays his way” which means that he pays for his own travel. He began his career at Gatwick airport, where he cleaned out planes for Sir Freddie Laker. He then started to write travel guidebooks and travel articles. Today Simon is Travel Correspondent for The Independent. Simon also writes for the Evening Standard, the i newspaper, as well many other publications. Simon is a regular guest on national TV and radio, often seen on BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, This Morning, CNN, ITV News and Sky News plus BBC Radio 2, 4, 5, and LBC. He has a new travel podcast called You Should Have Been There. He is frequently interviewed on national and local BBC radio.
During their topic ‘Who and What will Benny See on his Travels’ the children in Year 2 found out about all the different countries Benny had visited. They were particularly interested in finding out about China. Through this fascination they wanted to write an advert persuading people to go there.
The children were very excited and very keen to produce their best work, especially when they discovered that non other than TV broadcaster and travel writer Simon Calder would be reviewing it and choosing pieces from each class that he felt were of exceptional quality.
Simon wrote some super comments about the children’s work and these included the following: I loved the Chinese style paper you used and the drawings that often accompanied the writing. Some were black and white, some in colour. Everyone who submitted a piece mentioned the key elements of a visit to China, from facts to attractions. It was lovely to read about panda bears, fireworks, chop sticks, languages, food, the capital city, the Great Wall of China, the country’s flag, etc. Often, the style of the pieces was grown-up and read beautifully. Many of you came across as good promoters too, often finishing your writing with a Call to Action like, “Book you tickets now”. Overall, this body of work was of an exceptionally high standard. Well Done to all. Wishing you all the very best in your writing futures, Simon Calder, Travel Editor, the Independent.
The children were very excited when Simon gave the name of three children from each class whose work he found to be of particular mention. The children are pictured above with their unpublished pieces of work.
And here are four of the exceptional pieces after publishing!
