Budding young authors from a school in Cambridgeshire have put pen to paper and published their own book.

Pupils from Orchards CofE Academy in Wisbech had the idea to write their own story called ‘The Wisbech Wonder’ when author Richard O’Neill came to talk to them about the process of being an author.

Headteacher Sarah Cullen said the students were ‘fascinated’ to hear about Richard’s journey and it suddenly dawned on them that if he could do it, so could they.

“The seed was sown and the children got to work, with Richard’s help and with support from illustrator Michelle Russell,” she said.

The book, ‘The Wisbech Wonder’, tells the story of a group of children and their headteacher who decide to transform the outdoor space at school.

A mysterious plant grows with an edible fruit that tastes like the favourite food of whoever eats it.

“The children really did lead this; they have been incredible and wanted to make sure the book was totally representative of everyone in our school,” said Sarah.

“The story was their own idea and inspired by the work we had been doing for the Queen’s Green Canopy.”

The book took around eight months to create from start to finish and has caught the imagination of everyone who has seen it – including the now secretary of state for health, Steve Barclay who helped the children take it to Westminster.

Sarah said: “Steve Barclay MP visited the school when the children excitedly told him about their book.

“He was so impressed and said ‘you need to bring it to Westminster and show the secretary of state for education’

“The room erupted. We were all so excited and the children were so proud.”

She added: “Creating this book shows the children just what they can achieve if they put their mind to it and we also believe this book is the first of its kind – one created solely by schoolchildren from start to finish.”

The young authors are now busy penning their next masterpieces. In the meantime, ‘The Wisbech Wonder’ can be purchased via the school and will soon be available on Amazon.