*Now booking school visits here

I offer school visits for KS2 and KS3 (Yr6, Yr7, Yr8), tailored to the age group. This can combine a year group assembly talk followed by creative writing workshops, but  I’m happy to offer any combination (3 sessions per school day). All sessions last 1 hour.

BOY 87 TALK: An interactive talk using Boy 87 as a framework to discuss refugees and forced migration, giving age-appropriate context to a big subject, followed by a look at the journey of a book from manuscript to bookshop, including an opportunity to see the original manuscript, cover, and editions published in different countries

MELT TALK: This talk uses MELT as a framework to discuss climate change in the Arctic, linking it to our role in the causes and solutions, followed by a look at the journey of a book from manuscript to bookshop, including an opportunity to see the original manuscript, cover, and editions published in different countries

WORKSHOP: A creative writing workshop to help pupils plan their own novels, drawing on 20 years of experience working in publishing as an editor and author

Testimonials

“What a fantastic day. Thank you SO much. You were amazing, and the students loved it. I feel very honoured and privileged to have hosted you.”

St Joseph’s Catholic College

“What an amazing experience our students have just had. They were totally engaged and went away full of excitement and enthusiasm. Thank you to Ele for her talk.”

Chichester Free School

“Ele came to our school to visit our Year 7 cohort. The day consisted of a talk about her novel Boy 87, followed by two creative writing workshops of 32 pupils each. Both staff and pupils were wowed by Ele’s delivery. Her presentation in the morning had pupils on the edge of their seats. Similarly, staff loved the session as it gave them further insight into the context of the novel and how to teach it.

The two creative workshops that Ele delivered were equally superb. The sessions sparked pupils’ interest in writing and were delivered in a way that enabled all pupils to participate and engage with the learning. Pupils were so excited to plan their own novels with the help of a ‘real’ author. Ele’s session helped to ignite a passion for reading and writing in some of our pupils who had lost their love of books, which in this day and age, is some feat.”

Bitterne Park Secondary School

“Ele Fountain’s session focused on her book, Boy 87. From the very start, Ele held the attention of both the pupils and staff – her warmth emanated throughout the presentation which made it so captivating. One Year 7 boy said that Ele had inspired him to write.”

Westbourne House

“Students listened intently to extracts from Boy 87, which lead on to a lively discussion with Ele about what it means to be a refugee and how the media shapes perceptions.
After the talk, two consecutive groups of students took part in creative writing workshops, where Ele encouraged them to take part in a variety of writing tasks. The creativity resulting from these activities was astonishing and staff from the English department were extremely impressed by the range of ideas and the originality of the storylines.”

Hanley Castle High School

“We thoroughly enjoyed Ele’s visit to Edgeborough which was thought provoking and relevant, promoting empathy and understanding, critical skills necessary for all of us to thrive and flourish in the future. Ele spoke passionately and powerfully about the plight of refugees, made personal by the main character, Shif, in her debut novel, Boy 87. An important message, a compassionate author and an illuminating account our children will not forget.”

Edgeborough School

“Ele came into school to launch our 2019 Peace Day activities, which were linked to her beautifully written book, Boy 87. Ele met with all 520 of our junior aged children, with a separate assembly for Year 6. Ele’s visit brought Boy 87 to life! It instilled a greater depth of understanding for the world in which we live and a real sense of purpose as our children responded to key themes. Our children’s artwork was displayed in our Boy 87 reflective prayer space, which felt all the more special because of Ele’s visit.”

All Saints Junior School

“Ele’s discussion of the themes and characters in her book was perfectly judged for the age of the children yet she did not diminish the significance of the important issues. The children loved finding out about the process of writing a published book and I have no doubt that the love of reading and writing, within our school, will have been hugely supported by Ele’s visit.”

Berrywood Primary School

“Ele came to the Migration Museum to run workshops with a range of Primary School students as part of our Refugee Week activities. She captivated students with her incredible story, Boy 87, interweaving the story with a comprehensive teaching of forced migration in a way that was digestible to young audiences. Ele managed to approach a sensitive topic with delicacy and was thoroughly engaging throughout her workshops”

Liberty Melly, Migration Museum

“What a fantastic experience for our Year 2 children. Ele had our children thoroughly enthralled as she spoke about her life as an author, her inspirations and we even saw a picture of where she writes. The children were especially amazed by Ele’s ‘secret inside knowledge’, especially the story about someone who writes their stories on the bus! The assembly was pitched perfectly with a super combination of visitor chat and audience participation”

Book Week assembly, Tavistock Infants school