In the lead up to World Book Day, Streatham & Clapham High School girls and visiting students from local schools, have been inspired by a series of fascinating talks and engaging workshops delivered by local female authors.

Last week, a group of Year 7 pupils from SCHS and Dunraven School, attended a talk by Rachel Faturoti, a British-Nigerian author of books for children and young adults, including the acclaimed ‘Sadé and Her Shadow Beasts’. After her talk, Rachel fielded a diverse range of questions from the Year 7s, ranging from how much she earns from each book to what she eats for breakfast! Afterwards the students participated in a group task, working together to come up with ideas for a book.

Earlier this week, Year 9s, and visiting students from La Retraite School, were excited to have a visit from Ella McLeod, podcast producer, performer, writer and alumna of SCHS. Her most recent book ‘Rapunzella, Or, Don’t Touch My Hair’, is a young adult tale that weaves together inner-city life and a dangerous fairytale universe.

Ella talked about her journey as an author including the challenges she faced trying to get published; recalling an instance when she was told by a publisher that a book with a black person on the cover wouldn’t sell. Answering student’s questions she explained that her motivation to write was usually a sense of frustration about something which was not being given exposure.

Reflecting on her time at SCHS, Ella fondly discussed the value of her GCSE in Latin, which greatly enriched her understanding of classical literature. Her key tip for aspiring authors was to ‘Read (read a lot), Write (what interests you), Act (take action on your beliefs), Change the world!

Thank you to Rachel and Ella for inspiring us as we commemorate International Women’s Day and celebrate the power of books this week.