NEWS

Jennifer becomes the first ever Patron of Reading at the Sacred Heart Language College, Wealdstone

We are delighted to introduce our Patron of Reading for 2026–27, author Jennifer Burkinshaw.

During this National Year of Reading, we are thrilled to be working with Jennifer as she inspires our students to discover a lifelong love of reading over the coming academic year.

At our annual Reading Celebration Assembly, we were proud to introduce Jennifer to our students in her new role as Patron of Reading. As our special guest, Jennifer presented awards to students who successfully completed our Key Stage 3 Reading Challenge, a programme they have been working towards since September. She also presented the Top in Year Awards to our outstanding readers in Years 7, 8 and 9.

It was wonderful to celebrate the achievements of so many students and recognise the fantastic reading commitment shown across the College this year. Seeing so many young people rewarded for their enthusiasm and dedication to reading made for a truly memorable occasion.

Jennifer spoke to students about the importance of reading, sharing her own passion for books and storytelling. As a passionate advocate for reading, she is looking forward to working with our students over the coming year, encouraging them to explore new books, discover new authors and develop a love of reading that will last a lifetime.

Throughout the year, Jennifer will work closely with students through workshops and book discussions. As our Patron of Reading, she will help inspire a reading culture across the College, encouraging students to read for pleasure, broaden their horizons and discover the confidence and enjoyment that reading can bring.

“It is an utter privilege for me to take on this role of patron of reading at the college.

Since my own childhood, reading has been a lifeline to me so I would love to share my love of books with students, building on the excellent work the College already does of encouraging reading for pleasure. I see my role as a dialogue in which I listen to what the girls are both reading and would like to read and in return offer some suggestions about how they can find books they will love. In addition, I would like to use my experience as an author to continue to support creative writing in college.”

-Jennifer Burkinshaw

“As we celebrate the National Year of Reading, we look forward to sharing an exciting year of events with Jennifer that will inspire students to see reading as something to enjoy, not just something they do in the classroom. Reading has the power to open doors, spark curiosity, build confidence and broaden horizons, and we are passionate about creating a culture where every student can find books they enjoy. We are delighted to welcome Jennifer as our Patron of Reading and look forward to the inspiration, creativity and enthusiasm she will bring to our school community throughout the year.”

-Mrs L Williams, Librarian

Taking Nimue for a test drive!

Test Driving my brand new murder mystery verse novel, Nimue/Mantras for Murder

In March 2026, after working on my murder mystery for almost two years, the story was finally ready to try out on some sharp-eyes readers at the Sacred Heart College, Harrow on the Hill.

The group of twenty year 9 and 10 girls had so many invaluable suggestions to make from words such as a 'pick me' instead of my 'keeno' and places where I could make new characters a little easier to absorb.

Fortunately, they really related to my MC, sixteen-year-old Bria, wanted her to get together with her sidekick, Gwydion, and definitely wanted to know whodunnit!

"Recently, our school welcomed a visiting author who shared an exciting behind-the-scenes look at the creative process behind writing a novel. As part of her visit, she invited students to become active participants in the development of her upcoming book by reading the first 6,000 words of the manuscript—before it is published.

Students had the unique opportunity to be the very first audience for the opening of the novel. After reading the beginning, they provided thoughtful feedback on elements such as the opening hook, characters, pacing, and overall impressions. This experience allowed students to see how authors revise and refine their work based on reader responses, highlighting the importance of collaboration and critical thinking in the writing process.

The visit was both engaging and inspiring, giving students a rare glimpse into the real-world journey of an author and showing them that their voices and opinions as readers truly matter. It was an enriching experience that encouraged creativity, confidence, and a deeper appreciation for storytelling."

-Mrs L Williams, Librarian

"'What a unique privilege it was for me to have the time and attention of such a sharp and perceptive group of year 9/10 students to read the start of my next novel, 'Nimue'! All of them had pre-read the first six thousand words of my murder-mystery verse novel; during our session, 'Team Nimue' gave me a wealth of suggestions and feedback which I will be acting on to improve the story, especially at its very start. All the girls will be acknowledged at the end of the book and I look forward to returning to the school to show them 'Nimue' in its finished form once it's published.

My sincere thanks to all the girls and to Ms Williams and Ms Di Lullo for all their effort in enabling this opportunity.'"

-Jennifer Burkinshaw

"Today, 10 students from Year 9 and 10 students from Year 10 were selected to read a 6000-word manuscript of the book 'Nimue', which was written by the talented author, Jennifer Burkinshaw. Her aim was to get feedback from 20 students from the Sacred Heart about ways to improve and make the book even more intriguing. As students, we recommended many ideas which we believed would make the book more fascinating to read. In my opinion, the manuscript which shows the first half of the book is very interesting and grasps my attention due to the mystery being ongoing. She had also given us tips on writing verse books and how we should format it to match the vibe of the book itself. As well as giving feedback on the book, we also got the chance to learn about the inspirations that gave Jennifer Burkinshaw the idea to write this verse book.

Overall, this meeting was significant to me as it taught me the critical yet strong mindset a writer should have when receiving feedback and making sure to work on it. I would like to thank Mrs L Williams for giving us this wonderful opportunity to talk to a rising author. I would also like to thank Jennifer Burkinshaw for visiting our school and being willing to find out the strengths of her book from the perspectives of teenagers. I would like to wish her good luck on her next step to publishing this book. My peers and I enjoyed this experience very much."

-Aravee, Year 10

"The experience of talking to the author was such an amazing experience! It was extremely useful to learn about the process of writing a novel, publishing, and editing and provided an incredible opportunity to discuss such a beautifully written novel, as well as it being very exciting to contribute our ideas to the project. Throughout the experience, we reviewed excerpts from the novel and exchanged views on it, and it was a truly unique experience, unlike anything that the school has done before, and I can confidently say that we all are very excited to see what happens next, when the book is officially published!"

-Inna, Year 10

"Recently, a group of students and I had the chance to read an extract from a novel and share our opinions directly with the author, Jennifer Burkinshaw. The session was organised by Ms Williams and Ms Di Lullo, and it gave us a unique insight into the writing process. The extract was a young adult, murder mystery, verse novel. I thought that it was remarkably interesting, it allowed me to think more during the text, and I suggested that the author could make things clearer and simpler. Hearing other students’ ideas made the discussion more interesting and showed how differently people can interpret the same text. Meeting the author was exciting and made me realise how important feedback is in shaping a story. Overall, it was a memorable experience that helped me feel more confident in analysing and expressing my views on literature."

-Emms, Year 9

"I thought the workshop was a wonderful experience. It was amazing to be able to hear everyone express their thoughts and opinions. It felt great to be part of a group and to be able to share my thoughts and opinions as well. Overall, it was a one of a kind experience that I really enjoyed."

-Isabela, Year 9

Year 7 Creative Writing Workshop

Tuesday 7th July 2026

On Tuesday 7th July, as a reward for their dedication and enthusiasm throughout the KS3 Reading Challenge, twenty Year 7 students enjoyed a special creative writing workshop with our Patron of Reading, Jennifer Burkinshaw.

During the session, students explored descriptive writing by creating vivid pieces based on their own "happy places". Using an extract from Jennifer's young adult novel Igloo as inspiration, they discovered how writers use carefully chosen language to create atmosphere, bring settings to life and evoke emotion.

The workshop provided a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their creative writing skills, learn from a published author and share their ideas in a fun, supportive and encouraging environment.

It was a pleasure to hear students read their finished work aloud, demonstrating the imagination, creativity and enthusiasm they had shown throughout the session. Jennifer was impressed by their ideas and thoughtful use of descriptive language. The workshop concluded with a lively question-and-answer session, giving students the opportunity to find out more about Jennifer's journey to becoming an author, the writing process and the inspiration behind her books.

The workshop was a wonderful way to celebrate our students' enthusiasm for reading and writing, and we look forward to more inspiring events with Jennifer throughout the coming year.

The workshop was a fantastic example of how reading and writing can inspire creativity, confidence and imagination across the College.

"On the 7th of July, I participated in a wonderful creative writing workshop with an engaging author called Jennifer Burkinshaw. We began our session by telling everyone what our happy spaces are, which allowed us to work together as a community. We read her immersive book (Igloo), which inspired us to incorporate her method of writing in our English lessons.

The techniques she used also let us expand our knowledge of literacy. Everyone was really enthusiastic to know what happens next in her book. Shortly after we had a discussion and brainstormed on our happy spaces, the author effectively conveyed how a narrative piece should be clearly written. She managed to inspire us as young women in creating a positive environment to learn in.

We ended our session by writing our own piece of writing about our happy space, where we were able to show our talents through this workshop. We had an opportunity to read out our pieces and to get a book signed by this supportive author. To conclude, I am most grateful for participating and having a great experience (I have learnt a lot). Thank you for this opportunity!"

-Thijani - Class 7A

"I loved the Creative Writing Workshop experience our Patron of Reading (Jennifer Burkinshaw) came and delivered to us at the Sacred Heart Language College. I learnt how she structures her books and uses creative ideas to produce her stories. I personally love to read, so it was a delight to meet an author, she was kind and shared her knowledge with us while also having fun to describe our happy place's. I managed to purchase her favourite book called igloo and I am excited to read it, already knowing it will be amazing."

-Eleonore - Class 7R

EVENTS & signings

Happiness Seeker was short-listed for the Rubery International Book Award, YA/Children's category, July 2024. It is also in the final six for the Page Turner Books Awards 2024.

In August, along with two other Beaten Track authors, Jennifer enjoyed a buzzing afternoon signing books at the Book Lounge, Kirkby Lonsdale. The three

authors went on the road again on 12 October, National Bookshop Day, signing books at two more fabulous bookshops in the Yorkshire Dales - the Stripey Badger at Grassington and Limestone Books at Settle.

Later in October, at Blyth library, Jennifer was delighted to lead a writing workshop on planning, structuring and beginning your novel.

Two firsts for Jennifer in April - her first appearance at a literary festival, when

she led a writing workshop on meet-cutes at Huddersfield Lit Fest;

and a thrilling evening of discussion was had by Jennifer and ten keen adult readers at

who had all read Happiness Seeker at Jennifer's first book group event. Jennifer would love to visit more book groups - it's such a unique opportunity for readers and author to ask each other questions and share their experiences of the story.