Top children’s author and creator of TV’s Foyle’s War visited pupils to encourage them to read last week.

Rokeby School in Barking Road, Canning Town, held their third annual Big Read event where the whole school, including students, staff, and governors, cracked open Stormbreaker - the first novel in Horowitz’s hugely successful Alex Rider series - at the same time to discover the magic of reading.

The book was also offered to the pupils in four different languages.

The man himself visited the school on Tuesday to share his experiences and writing inspirations before meeting sixteen student librarians for a question and answer session.

Kirill Getmansky, a Year Seven pupil at Rokeby, said: “The most fun day of the week was when Anthony Horowitz came to our school and gave a big speech.

“His speech taught me an important lesson - to always put in my best!

“I loved it when he signed my book and especially when he spoke about his Grandma. He was so funny!”