CHILDREN'S author Dan Walker, creator of Sky Thieves, Desert Thieves and The Light Hunters fantasy adventure stories, has paid tribute to the children of Stanford-le-Hope's Arthur Bugler school.

Last month school pupil Lenny Tucker was announced the Silver Winner in the BBC 500 Words 2020. This was a huge achievement for Lenny and everyone at Arthur Bugler Primary was bursting with pride for the young writer.

In addition to Lenny's success, many other budding authors from Arthur Bugler Primary also entered the nationwide competition. To celebrate their writing efforts, the school decided to publish their stories in the ABP 500 Words book alongside illustrations from their peers.

Originally, all of the children involved in the project were going to attend Corringham Library to celebrate the launch of their first ever published book. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions, this had to sadly be cancelled.

However, to ensure the children's writing efforts were not forgotten, Arthur Bugler Primary recruited the support of authors from across the UK to help celebrate the creation of the ABP 500 Words book. Chris Callaghan, Michelle Harrison, Vashti Hardy, Dan Walker, Peter Bunzl and Vanessa Harbour all supported the idea and provided encouraging video messages to celebrate the children's efforts.

In addition to the celebrations, The Duchess or Cornwall, a keen supporter of the BBC 500 Words, contacted Arthur Bugler Primary to acknowledge the impressive writing talents of those who participated!

Lucy Chipperfield, a teacher at Arthur Bugler Primary said: "In school, we are always thinking about lifelong learning opportunities and the ABP 500 Words was a chance to show the children that writing can have a huge impact beyond a Literacy lesson. I hope this opportunity has shown them what incredible writers and illustrators they are. Everyone at Arthur Bugler Primary are so proud of each and every one of them."