Patron of Reading and best-selling author Joffre White was at Harrow Way Community School recently to give an animated and humorous talk to students about his life and career. He is widely renowned for his work promoting literacy and his stories about becoming a writer, the power of the written word, the value of friendship and the importance of chasing your dreams held his young Andover audience captivated.

Speaking to Year 7 and 8 Joffre entertained students with stories of his childhood and his journey from working in the music and acting industry to becoming a successful fantasy writer. He identified how words have the power to heal, to inspire, to convert, to inform and to entertain. Conversely, he told the students, words can be a negative force, to deliberately provoke and cause pain, such as when used for trolling.

Harrow Way’s Learning Resource Centre Manager, Sharon Burningham, who organises author visits to engage students with the benefits of reading said: “Joffre captivated the students. He has such a compelling way of telling his stories that they were gripped during the sessions but more importantly they have been inspired to challenge themselves and their writing.”

Joffre also spent time with students keen to one day see themselves on the bestsellers list. Passing on hints and tips based on his years of writing novels he spent time helping students develop story ideas for various writing competitions. Sharon Burningham continues: “He gave the students a huge incentive to produce some quality, well thought out and written stories. Joffre has a writing ambassadors section on his website and he offered to consider posting Harrow Way stories there. The challenge is on!”

In addition to being a Patron of Reading Joffre is also a member of the National Association of Writers in Education. He is the author of the popular ‘Frog’ fantasy adventure series.