On Wednesday, we welcomed author and screenwriter Andy Briggs to the school.

Andy spoke to Year 9 about his 30+-year career as a writer, sharing insights from his work on books series including Hero.com, Villain.net, Tarzan, Inventory and Drone Racer. He also discussed his screenwriting career, which included work on early versions of Hellboy, Alien vs Predator and Judge Dredd. We were more than a little star-struck to hear he had worked alongside Marvel creator Stan Lee.

He gave students a fascinating glimpse into the creative industries, explaining how writers’ rooms operate and stressing the importance of collaboration in storytelling.

Thanks to the support of Merchant Taylors’ Company, every student in Year 9 will receive a copy of his book Iron Fist (Inventory series).

Following the talk, students in Years 8 and 9 took part in interactive workshops with Andy. Working in their own mini writers’ rooms, they developed ideas together and discovered the benefits of creative collaboration firsthand. We were all blown away by the creativity of our students.

A huge thank you to Andy for making the day such an interesting diversion from exams and for the valuable advice he shared with aspiring writers and illustrators in our school community.