In 2024, St John’s Foundation is turning 850 years old and to celebrate our milestone anniversary, we embarked on a special project. We harnessed the creative minds of 192 primary school pupils from seven local schools in Bath and North East Somerset to write a one-of-a-kind book.
In June, Bath-based children’s author Stewart Foster visited each of these seven schools. Over two sessions, Stewart helped the children from each class bring their ideas to life, guiding them as they wrote a book together. The result was The Day the Alien Came —a fun and heartwarming story about Jai, an alien whose spaceship crash-lands in Bath with his Grampy. Emerging from the wreckage of his ship, Jai is greeted by local children who take him on an extraordinary adventure, discovering the wonders of Earth and the magic of friendship.
The Day the Alien Came will be released in October. The children featured within the pages will be published authors, and it is their hard work, imagination, and enthusiasm that has made creating this enchanting story possible. Through this project, we aim to highlight the incredible power of reading and literature.
Catharine Brown, CEO of St John’s Foundation, expressed how much this project means to us:
“We are delighted to celebrate our 850th anniversary and mark this occasion by creating something that positively impacts our community and leaves a legacy for the future. Every child contributed something unique, turning this story into a whirlwind of imagination. We’re so proud to share their work with the world.”
Once the book is published, Stewart will return to the schools for a special launch event, where each child will receive their very own copy of the book. We hope that each child involved will forever cherish the memory of writing this book, inspiring them to continue exploring the world through words.
Stewart Foster reflected on the project saying “When St John’s asked me to be involved in this project, I had no idea what an amazing experience I was about to have with the children, and certainly no indication of the incredible work we would produce. The book is the result of my visits, guidance, but ultimately their hard work and imagination. There are lines that will make you laugh, poems that will make you cry, because when an alien lands its spaceship near your school, that’s the sort of emotions it can bring out.”
The book will be available to buy at Mr B’s Emporium and The Oldfield Park Bookshop, with all profits going back to the schools to help fill their libraries with more books. We’re also sending a copy to the British Library so that these young authors’ work can be enjoyed for years to come.
The story is brought to life with illustrations by Andrew Prescot and is a collaboration between seven fantastic schools: St Martin’s Garden Primary School, St Michael’s Junior Church School, Twerton Infant School and Nursery, St Keyna Primary School, Roundhill Primary School, Castle Primary School, and St Mary’s Church of England Primary School.
Since February 2020, St John’s Foundation has been working with these schools, which serve 40% of the region’s most under-served children. Through our Best Start in Life initiative (formerly known as The Foundation Fund), we provide support in reading, writing, maths, and more, along with emotional and behavioural guidance.
We would also like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors, whose support made this project possible. Our headline sponsors are Almeda Facilities, The Curated Property Company, Evelyn Partners, and Thrings Solicitors. We’re also grateful to our Silver sponsors YTL Utilities UK and Cazenove Capital, for their generosity.
