STAFF and pupils at St Mary’s Academy in Beaminster were left in awe when renowned author Pie Corbett visited them for the day.

The visit was part of a training day for the author’s Talk for Writing project, which aims to raise attainment by enabling children to imitate the language they need for a particular topic orally before reading and analysing it and then writing their own version.

The children in years one and two were treated to story time with Mr Corbett and his colleague Maria Richards, with the teachers inspired by the reading sessions they watched in school.

As part of the training day, 28 visiting teachers from across Dorset joined staff from St Mary’s for a day of book talk, exploring poetry, discussing how children learn to read confidently and enjoyed the opportunity to share ideas about reading with their colleagues.

The training day is the first of six planned for teachers in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 and will give all participating schools the opportunity to evaluate their reading provision and build on what they currently do in their schools.

A spokesperson for St Mary’s Academy said: “We can’t wait for the next session and are excited to see the impact of the new ideas when we implement them in school.

“We were a little star-struck by knowing we were hosting this special visitor and having met him will definitely be saving space for another piece of Pie.”