HATHERLEIGH primary pupils welcomed award-winning author Sir Michael Morpurgo to their school recently.

The former Children’s Laureate, the author of the internationally-acclaimed War Horse, who lives at Iddesleigh, was invited to the school by a Year 5 pupil.

The children in Beeches Class asked him about his favourite characters, how he writes and where he finds inspiration for his books.

Michael told the children how he had a dream to be a rugby player for England when he was younger but was inspired to take up writing after working as a primary school teacher.

He told the children that his experience of trying to keep Year 6 children engaged prompted him to start storytelling and then writing.

He explained how he came to write the story of the War Horse, and was given a copy of the Hatherleigh Trail, which the children wrote last summer.