Programme for Schools

Step into a deep, dark forest hidden in a library with Coelho’s The Girl Who Became a Tree. The performance poet and playwright, who became Waterstones Children’s Laureate in 2022, tells a story through poems about one girl’s attempt to escape the forest and the creature hidden within. Join Coelho for a story about grief, magic, loss, new strength and healing. The Girl Who Became a Tree was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and Coelho has written a follow-up, The Boy Lost in the Maze.

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Camwch mewn i goedwig ddofn, dywyll wedi’i chuddio mewn llyfrgell gyda The Girl Who Became a Tree. Mae’r bardd perfformio a’r dramodydd, a ddaeth yn Awdur Plant Waterstones yn 2022, yn adrodd stori trwy gerddi am ymgais un ferch i ddianc o’r goedwig a’r creadur sydd yn cuddio tu mewn iddi. Ymunwch â Coelho am stori am alar, hud, colled, cryfder newydd ac iachau. Cafodd The Girl Who Became a Tree ei chynnwys ar restr fer Medal Carnegie, ac mae Coelho wedi ysgrifennu nofel ddilynol, The Boy Lost in the Maze.

Enter the post-apocalyptic world created by Carnegie Medal winner McGowan in his new book set following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Dragged from her bed in the middle of the night and forced to leave her beloved puppy behind, Natasha has no idea if she’ll ever return home. Growing up in the shadow of the ruined nuclear power plant, pups Misha and Bratan need to learn how to live wild, as creatures with sharp teeth, scythe-like claws and yellow eyes lurk in the overgrown woods watching them. Will the dogs survive without humans? And can humans live without them?

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Camwch mewn i’r byd ôl-apocalyptaidd a grëwyd gan enillydd Medal Carnegie McGowan yn ei lyfr newydd sydd wedi’i osod yn dilyn damwain niwclear Chernobyl ym 1986. Wedi ei llusgo o’i gwely yng nghanol y nos a’i gorfodi i adael ei chŵn bach annwyl ar ôl, does gan Natasha ddim syniad a fydd hi byth yn dychwelyd adref. Wrth dyfu i fyny yng nghysgod y pwerdy niwclear adfeiliedig, mae angen i’r cŵn bach, Misha a Bratan, ddysgu sut i fyw’n wyllt, wrth i greaduriaid gyda crafangau tebyg i sgyrfi a llygaid melyn yn llechu yn y coed sydd wedi gordyfu eu gwylio. A fydd y cŵn yn goroesi heb fodau dynol? Ac a all bodau dynol fyw hebddyn nhw?

Take part in a lively and inspirational event introducing all things engineering, with Dr Shini Somara. Engineers are the superheroes of the real world. They use their problem-solving skills to face down the biggest challenges we have, from creating clean energy to designing prosthetic limbs, from eliminating food shortages to programming AI to exploring the surface of Mars.

Dr Somara will introduce us to some of the engineers featured in her book, created in collaboration with Imperial College London. Engineers Making a Difference looks at everyone from apprentices and lab technicians to university professors and start-up CEOs. You’ll discover what problems they’re solving and why they love their jobs. They may even inspire you to consider a path in the industry. Engineers are changing the world – will you be one of them?

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Cymerwch ran mewn digwyddiad bywiog ac ysbrydoledig sy’n cyflwyno popeth peirianneg, gyda Dr Shini Somara. Peirianwyr yw archarwyr y byd go iawn. Maen nhw’n defnyddio eu sgiliau datrys problemau i wynebu’r heriau mwyaf sydd gennym, o ddylunio coesau a breichiau prosthetig, o ddileu prinder bwyd i raglennu Deallusrwydd Artiffisial i archwilio arwyneb y blaned Mawrth.

Bydd Dr Somara yn ein cyflwyno i rai o’r peirianwyr sy’n cael sylw yn ei llyfr, a grëwyd ar y cyd â Choleg Imperial Llundain. Mae Engineers Making a Difference yn edrych ar bawb, o brentisiaid a thechnegwyr labordy i athrawon prifysgol a Phrif Swyddogion Gweithredol newydd. Byddwch chi’n darganfod pa broblemau maen nhw’n eu datrys, a pham maen nhw’n caru eu swyddi. Efallai y byddan nhw hyd yn oed yn eich ysbrydoli i ystyried llwybr yn y diwydiant. Mae peirianwyr yn newid y byd – a fyddwch chi’n un ohonyn nhw?

How would it feel being forced to leave your home? What circumstances would lead you to that decision? And what can be done to help those who have had to flee their lives and make a new start? As part of our Planet Assembly series, which aims to empower people to understand and act upon new knowledge, poet Nicola Davies will discuss the stories and experiences of real-life refugees who inspired the poems in her collection Choose Love, beautifully illustrated by Petr Horáček.

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Sut byddai’n teimlo i gael eich gorfodi i adael eich cartref? Pa amgylchiadau fyddai’n eich arwain chi at y penderfyniad hwnnw? A beth y gellir ei wneud i helpu’r rhai sydd wedi gorfod ffoi o’u bywydau a dechrau o’r newydd? Fel rhan o’n cyfres Planet Assembly, sy’n ceisio grymuso pobl i ddeall a gweithredu ar wybodaeth newydd, bydd y bardd Nicola Davies yn trafod straeon a phrofiadau ffoaduriaid go iawn a ysbrydolodd y cerddi yn ei chasgliad Choose Love, gyda darluniadau hyfryd gan Petr Horáček.

Award-winning author Patrice Lawrence – whose books include Orangeboy and Indigo Donut – takes us back to 1764 London in her middle-grade novel The Elemental Detectives. Heroes Marisee and Robert are the Elemental Detectives of the title, chasing clues across the city to prevent London slumbering for all eternity. Join Patrice as she talks about the real-life inspiration behind the book and shares tips on how to create magical creatures and worlds inspired by local landmarks.

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Mae’r awdur arobryn Patrice Lawrence – y mae ei llyfrau’n cynnwys Orangeboy ac Indigo Donut – yn mynd â ni yn ôl i Lundain ym 1764 yn ei nofel ganolradd The Elemental Detectives. Yr arwyr Marisee a Robert yw’r ditectifs yn y teitl, sy’n hel cliwiau ar draws y ddinas i atal Llundain rhag cysgu am byth. Ymunwch â hi wrth iddi sôn am yr ysbrydoliaeth y tu ôl i’r llyfr a sut mae hi’n rhannu awgrymiadau ar sut i greu creaduriaid a bydoedd hudolus wedi eu hysbrydoli gan dirnodau lleol.

Get creative, find your voice and dream big with author Nikesh Shukla as he chats about his funny and poignant new comedy Stand Up. For Nikesh, tragedy + time = comedy. He’ll explore his lifelong love of comedy, how humour got him in and out of tight spots growing up, all those times we laugh when otherwise we might probably cry, and how standing up for what you believe in can really change your life.

In Stand Up we meet Madhu – 17 years old, super funny, painfully honest…and completely lost. She’s in her final year of college, her dad is putting pressure on her to apply to uni, she misses her estranged sister and she’s working every shift she can to support her family. But what she really wants is to be a world famous stand-up comedian. But the road to comedy glory isn’t easy – can Madhu stay true to herself and those she loves the most?

Byddwch yn greadigol, dewch o hyd i’ch llais a breuddwydio’n fawr gyda’r awdur Nikesh Shukla, wrth iddo sgwrsio am ei gomedi newydd doniol ac ingol Stand Up. I Nikesh, trasiedi + amser = comedi. Bydd yn archwilio ei gariad gydol oes at gomedi, sut y cafodd hiwmor ef i mewn ac allan o fannau tynn yn tyfu i fyny, yr holl adegau hynny rydyn ni’n chwerthin pan fel arall mae'n debyg y buasem yn crio, a sut mae sefyll dros yr hyn rydych chi’n credu ynddo yn gallu newid eich bywyd go iawn.

Yn Stand Up, rydyn ni’n cwrdd â Madhu – sy’n 17 oed, hynod ddoniol, poenus o onest... ac ar goll yn llwyr. Mae hi yn ei blwyddyn olaf yn y coleg, mae ei thad yn rhoi pwysau arni i wneud cais i’r brifysgol, mae hi’n methu ei chwaer sydd wedi ymddieithrio, ac mae hi’n gweithio bob shifft posib i gefnogi ei theulu. Ond beth mae hi wir eisiau yw bod yn ddigrifwr stand-yp byd-enwog. Ond dydi’r llwybr i ogoniant comedi ddim yn hawdd – all Madhu aros yn driw iddi hi ei hun a’r rhai mae hi’n eu caru fwyaf?

Plunge into the deep waters of the great whales with conservationist Chris Vick. In The Last Whale Chris tells the story of the Kristensen family, as they change from killers into conservationists. Their family history as whale hunters evolves into a mission to save the great whales and our planet. Chris draws on his own years of experience working for a whale and dolphin conservation charity to bring this captivating, action-packed adventure to life with a powerful environmental call to action.

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Plymiwch i ddyfroedd dwfn y morfilod mawr gyda’r cadwraethwr Chris Vick. Yn The Last Whale, mae Chris yn adrodd hanes y teulu Kristensen, wrth iddyn nhw newid o fod yn lladdwyr i fod yn gadwraethwyr. Hanes eu teulu wrth i helwyr morfilod esblygu’n genhadaeth i achub y morfilod mawr a’n planed. Mae Chris yn defnyddio ei flynyddoedd ei hun o brofiad yn gweithio i elusen cadwraeth morfilod a dolffiniaid i ddod â’r antur swynol, llawn gweithredu hwn yn fyw, gyda galwad amgylcheddol bwerus i weithredu.

You’ll be amazed in more ways than one as Candy Gourlay, author of the Costa and Carnegie shortlisted Bone Talk, unfolds this forgotten piece of history. It is 1904 in the mountains of the Philippines and Luki’s had enough of everybody in her tribe telling her what to do. Now she’s growing up, she is expected to become a wife and a mother, but Luki isn’t ready to give up her dream to become a warrior. She accepts a trip across the vast ocean to see the thrills of the Saint Louis World’s Fair in America. But nothing in the land of opportunity is what it seems.

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Byddwch yn rhyfeddu mewn mwy nag un ffordd wrth i Candy Gourlay, awdur y Costa a Carnegie ar restr fer Bone Talk, ddatblygu’r darn hwn o hanes anghofiedig. Mae hi’n 1904 ym mynyddoedd y Philipinau, ac mae Luki wedi cael digon ar bawb yn ei llwyth yn dweud wrthi beth i’w wneud. Nawr ei bod hi’n tyfu i fyny, mae disgwyl iddi ddod yn wraig ac yn fam, ond dydy Luki ddim yn barod i roi’r gorau i’w breuddwyd i fod yn rhyfelwr. Mae hi’n derbyn taith ar draws y cefnfor enfawr i weld gwefr Ffair y Byd Saint Louis yn America. Ond dim byd yn nhir y cyfle yw’r hyn mae'n ymddangos.

You are enough. You are interesting. Tell your story. Join YA Book Prize shortlisted author and Brit School Performing Arts graduate Laura Dockrill as she delivers a superb masterclass on how you can play in your imagination to find your voice and use it to express yourself – and become a creative writing superstar.

Rydych chi’n ddigon. Rydych chi’n ddiddorol. Adroddwch eich stori. Ymunwch â’r awdur ar restr fer Gwobr Llyfrau yr Awduron Ifanc ac un o raddedigion Brit School Performing Arts, Laura Dockrill, wrth iddi gyflwyno dosbarth meistr gwych ar sut gallwch chi chwarae yn eich dychymyg i ddod o hyd i’ch llais a’i ddefnyddio i fynegi eich hun – a chreu archseren ysgrifennu creadigol.

Did you know that a toy spaceship can teach you about inflation? Or that a pooping cow can show you how to invest your pocket money? And that even the greatest detectives have been fooled by fake news and dancing fairies? The world is often full of bamboozling headlines and numbers that don’t add up. And in a world of rising living costs, climate change, fake news and dodgy data, it’s hard to get your head round it all. But don’t panic.

With Tim Harford, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s More or Less, you will transform into a Truth Detective and hunt down the truth about the world around you. You will meet heroic truth detectives, such as Florence Nightingale who started a revolution with a pie chart. You will encounter dastardly villains who have tried to trip us up with dodgy data and misinformation. And you will learn how being smart and savvy about numbers will help you be smart and savvy about everything else in life too. So grab your detective cap, pick up your magnifying glass and start seeing the world like never before.

Oeddech chi’n gwybod y gall llong ofod teganau eich dysgu am chwyddiant? Neu y gall buwch sy’n mynd i’r toiled ddangos i chi sut i fuddsoddi eich arian poced? A bod hyd yn oed y ditectifs mwyaf wedi cael eu twyllo gan newyddion ffug a thylwyth teg sy’n dawnsio? Mae’r byd yn aml yn llawn penawdau a rhifau sydd ddim yn adio fyny. Ac mewn byd o gostau byw cynyddol, newid hinsawdd, newyddion ffug a data amheus, mae’n anodd cael eich pen rownd y cyfan. Ond peidiwch â chynhyrfu.

Gyda Tim Harford, cyflwynydd More or Less ar BBC Radio 4, byddwch yn trawsnewid i fod yn Dditectif Gwirionedd ac yn hela’r gwir am y byd o’ch cwmpas. Byddwch yn cwrdd â ditectifs hollol arwrol, fel Florence Nightingale, a ddechreuodd chwyldro gyda siart cylch. Byddwch yn dod ar draws dihirod sydd wedi ceisio ein baglu gyda data amheus a chamwybodaeth. Ac fe fyddwch chi’n dysgu sut bydd bod yn gall am rifau yn eich helpu i fod yn gall am bopeth arall mewn bywyd hefyd. Felly, gafaelwch yn eich cap ditectif, codwch eich chwyddwydr, a dechrau gweld y byd fel erioed o’r blaen.

Superstar space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is here to answer all your questions about the wonders of the universe – from whether it’s raining gemstones on Jupiter to what the astronauts are having for dinner on the International Space Station. Curious cosmonauts and enthusiastic Earthlings alike will discover the wonders of space as Maggie introduces her out-of-this-world book, Am I Made of Stardust? Dr Maggie Answers the Big Questions for Young Scientists.

Teaching materials for this event can be found here

Mae’r archseren o wyddonydd gofod Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock yma i ateb eich holl gwestiynau am ryfeddodau’r bydysawd – o’r posibilrwydd ei bod yn glawio gemfeini ar y blaned Iau, i’r hyn y mae’r gofodwyr yn ei gael i gael cinio ar yr Orsaf Ofod Ryngwladol. Bydd pob daearolyn yn darganfod rhyfeddodau’r gofod wrth i Maggie gyflwyno’i llyfr anhygoel, Am I Made of Stardust? Dr Maggie sy’n Ateb y Cwestiynau Mawr i Wyddonwyr Ifanc.

Open talking from gender equality activist and Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates and author of I Heard What You Said Jeffrey Boakye, who has a particular interest in issues surrounding race, masculinity, education and popular culture. Together they’ll discuss important issues for young people today including consent, young women online and toxic masculinity.

Bydd Laura Bates, yr actifydd cydraddoldeb rhywedd a sylfaenydd Everyday Sexism a’r awdur I Heard What You Said Jeffrey Boakye, sydd â diddordeb arbennig mewn materion sy'n ymwneud â hil, gwrywdod, addysg a diwylliant poblogaidd, yn siarad yn agored. Gyda'i gilydd, byddant yn trafod materion pwysig i bobl ifanc heddiw, sy’n cynnwys caniatâd, merched ifanc ar-lein a gwrywdod gwenwynig.