I have been doing Backwell's Summer School classes every year for, quite possibly, a decade, and usually I work with one group per day, for a couple of days. This year, under a new organiser, they decided that all 200 kids should get the experience of my classes, so I ended up doing sessions that were an hour and three quarters at the longest, and under an hour and a half a couple of times. Seven of them over three days, which included one day of three classes. But, by golly, we did it.
The fourteen groups, who when they weren't with me were doing various activities, mostly sporting and physical, were all named after fruits, some more exotic than others. Sadly the first groups (I was working with two at a time, meaning I had 30 in my classes, while other teachers will have had 15 - god this is riveting detail isn't it?) I didn't get the fruity names of, but they were followed by Pomegranate and Tamarillo (no, me neither) which was to be the pattern of the week.
Day 2 had three classes squeezed into it, and I excelled myself by getting 90 caricatures drawn in a day, and three photocopied comics run off. They are always satisfying to see...
The third and final day saw two more fun comics produced, and the pleasure of getting them copied and into the kids' hands before they left for the end of the week. I know this has been a very mundane description of the run of the mill classes I do on a regular basis, but it was honestly so good to have such an effortless travel-free few days that I thought they deserved a blog to themselves.
Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who, and graphic novels adapted from Shakespeare, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. He is the host of the podcast Comic Cuts The Panel Show.
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