Andy Briggs, renowned screenwriter, graphic novelist and author, visits Darwen Aldridge Community Ac

On 9 November 2018, internationally renowned author, graphic novelist and script writer, Andy Briggs, came to Darwen Aldridge Community Academy to talk to Year 7 and Year 8 students about what it's like to be a writer and the many different careers available to writers. DACA also invited along Year 6 students from Avondale Primary.

Right from the start, Andy had the students fully engaged and there was a high level of participation from the students. It was a loud and fun experience for both staff and students. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed attending the talk.

Afterwards students queued up to talk to Andy and to get their books signed. They are still buzzing from the visit even today.

Andy managed to change a lot of young minds about how writers can actually lead exciting lives. It's not about just sitting writing at a desk being boring but travelling around the world to do research for your books and meeting interesting people like future technologists, FBI and CIA.

It’s thrilling to see how much difference an author's visit makes in our quest to encourage more students to read for pleasure. Several of our students have brand new books to read both in the library as well as having their own copies to take home.

Andy's new novel, Drone Racer, is proving to be a popular read here at DACA as students are thoroughly enjoying reading the book.