THE King's School in Chester was thrilled to welcome current UK Children’s Laureate Lauren Child to the school.

Lauren is perhaps most famous for her ‘Charlie and Lola’ books and it was clear that the staff were as excited as the pupils about meeting such a wonderful writer and illustrator.

It was fascinating to see some of the techniques that she had used for her new illustrated version of ‘Mary Poppins’ including using the patterns on the inside of envelopes for collage.

She talked passionately about how she discovered the inspiration for her stories and illustrations and encouraged the children to believe that anybody has the ability to come up with their own stories. Lauren also talked about how colours and simple illustrations can immediately convey different emotions.

A spokesperson for the school said: "We were particularly pleased to be able to welcome 100 pupils from Belgrave, Dee Point and Highfield Blacon primary schools and St Martin’s Academy, who joined us in listening to and meeting Lauren. Lauren answered many questions from the audience and it was clear how enthused all the pupils were after her wonderful talk.

"Lauren also signed many copies of the ‘Mary Poppins’ book and her latest ‘Hubert Horatio’ books for pupils and staff, and these will surely be treasured for years to come!"