Dulwich Puxi’s Amazing Writers!

A few weeks ago our Year 3 students began reading “The Boy Who Biked the World,” by Alistair Humphreys during our e-learning guided reading lessons. Our young learners became totally engrossed in the story of Tom, a young boy from England, who left his homeland and cycled through Europe and Africa all the way to the tip of South Africa. Along the way we were introduced not only to the fascinating landscapes he passes through, but also to the people who embrace him as he travels.

Luckily for us, one of our student’s parents has a connection to the author and we were privileged to receive an email from Mr.Humphreys himself who told us he was very happy we were enjoying his story. Our students began to research the author and discovered that Mr.Humphreys is himself an adventurer who over a four year period cycled 46,000 miles around the world. As well as this extraordinary feat Alistair has rowed across the Atlantic and walked across India. He was named as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for his pioneering work on the concept of microadventures, trying to encourage people to get outside, get out of their comfort zone, go somewhere they’ve never been. A microadventure is an adventure that is close to home, cheap, simple, short, and yet very effective.

Our students decided to write letters to Alistair to find out about his life and adventures and what inspired him to write, The Boy Who Biked the World. We were so impressed with the quality of our student’s written work and as you can see from the attached examples it is of an extremely high standard. We feel that writing for a purpose brings out the best in our students. When we return to College and plan our next units of learning as a teaching team we hope to set off our students on their own self-created microadventures where they can showcase their burgeoning pioneering spirit.