This year for World Book Day, we’re offering two creative writing workshops and a poetry and rap performance your students will love.
ideal for KS1
Primary School Workshops
LITTLE HEROES: BIG ADVENTURES
🕒 9:05am–9:50am UK time
(45 minutes)
A joyful and gentle creative-writing workshop designed for younger learners.
Students explore how characters are built, guess clues about Mark’s favourite story character, hear a reading of Rhinos Don’t Cry, and discover the three simple ingredients that make a brilliant hero.
Together, we’ll build a bank of positive traits, create imaginative head–body–feet illustrations, and decide what problem our new character must face.
Outcome: Students create their very own illustrated, labelled character to use in follow-up writing.
Capacity: Class-sized groups (one ticket per class).
ideal for KS2
VILLAIN VERSES
🕒 9.55am-10.45am UK time
(50 minutes)
A high-energy writing session where students explore what makes a villain truly unforgettable.
We begin by sharing favourite baddies in the chat before Mark performs a brand-new “monster rap” written especially for this event.
Students will make a list of their favourite villains from literature and other media, them will build rhyme banks, collect villainous vocabulary, and use a clear structure to craft an 8-line rap or poem from their villain’s point of view.
Outcome: A fun, confident villainous rap written entirely by students.
Capacity: Class-sized groups (one ticket per class).
ideal for larger groups
Primary School performance
Poetry and Rap Showcase: Characters
🕒 1:45pm-2.15pm UK time
(30 minutes)
Join poet and performer Mark Grist for a lively 30-minute poetry performance designed especially for KS1 & KS2 students.
Mark will share a range of his funniest, most memorable poems and raps—packed with rhythm, rhyme and imagination—alongside stories from his life as a published poet.
There’ll be time for students to ask questions via the chat, and the session is perfect for a larger group in a hall or assembly space (though you're welcome to tune in from your classroom if that works better). A brilliant burst of inspiration to get young writers buzzing with ideas.
