Award-winning children's author, Sita Bramachari, inspires Portsmouth Grammar School pupils with empowering workshops on International Women's Day

Sita Brahmachari, who won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2011, hosted a wide variety of workshops for year groups across Portsmouth Grammar School – including a session to encourage the girls to speak proudly of the ‘remarkable’ work they’d achieved.

Following the release of her latest book, When Shadows Fall, Sita led a creative workshop working with a handful of sixth formers, before presenting a Literary Society talk on the importance of documenting stories of notable women through history.

Brahmachari, 56, works for Amnesty International and has been working with the school since lockdown.

In September 2021, staff and students were ‘honoured’ to be able to read a proof copy of When Shadows Fall. Pupils were set the ‘inspiring’ task of producing mini podcasts every week providing their observations and thoughts on the book to send to Sita.

Portsmouth Grammar School English teacher, Bryony Hart, said: ‘It’s been absolutely phenomenal. [Sita] commissioned two of the people in our book group who are going on to do art foundation courses. She is very enthused about using some of their work in her big launch event for this book.’

Bryony said Sita was ‘blown away’ by the girls’ response to a discussion on female empowerment.

‘The students were quite apologetic in the way that they were talking about their work and Sita said: “No, no, you need to rephrase that”,’ she added.

‘Yesterday was about getting the girls to frame the way in which they speak about the work that they have produced in a really positive, powerful way.’

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Sita has been nominated for various awards, winning herself the Waterstone Book Prize for her debut novel Artichoke Hearts.

Her books have also been shortlisted for the UKLA Book award (a competition judged by teachers), a nomination for the children’s book award from the CELIP Carnegie Medal and her works have seen her books published in languages across the globe.

Bryony added: ‘Often in culture, women downplay their successes and they’re compared to their male counterparts.

‘They're fearful of celebrating their success and they don't want people to think they're being aggressive.

‘It's not about that. It's about actually acknowledging what you've achieved.’

In the afternoon, Sita read her book Swallows Kiss to the Year Two’s which is based onthe lives of refugees and migrant children.

‘Part of it yesterday is they all had a feather each and they had to write a wish on it,’ says Bryony.

‘Some of them made us cry. One of the girls said, "I wish that the Russian's would stop invading Ukraine and I wish that all the Ukrainians had a safe home”.

‘Yesterday was a very profound day on various levels because Sita was talking to the young children about refugees and the need for belonging. Then she was talking to the girls higher up in the school about the need to talk really positively about yourself - and not to "hide your light".’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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