Bali Rai visits the Learning Lounge

Writing workshop success! (Learning Lounge - 12/02/2018)

On Monday the 12th of February Toot Hill's Learning Lounge were lucky enough to welcome local author Bali Rai through their doors. Bali is a gritty author who publishes stories which teenagers can relate to. They are sharp, engaging and real.

In the morning, Bali gave an address to two year 9 classes and spoke to them about how he wrote his novel 'Web of Darkness' which he'd based on real events. The students learnt about internet safety and the very realistic dangers that can be found on the web. They also learnt that Bali wasn't a fan of 'the sweet life of Zack and Cody', which caused some controversy.

In the afternoon, 15 lucky students from Year 7 and 8 attended his writing workshop where they learnt how to plan a story. They came up with various ideas for stories based on titles and had to think about what made a story great. One particular activity was to come up with a story based on the 'The ball', only problem was they couldn't refer to a ball at all!

Our lovely Student Librarians and English Ambassadors then enjoyed a Q and A with Bali whist feasting on a scrumptious buffet.

It was a raging success and left our students with a lot to think about.

If you are interested in reading 'Web of Darkness' there are copies to borrow in the Learning Lounge.