Miss Mulligan's Class

Welcome to Miss Mulligan's Class

Mrs Westlake, Miss Mulligan & Miss Kettleborough

Autumn Term Please Click On The Subject Logo To See What Will Be Learning This Term

Autumn Term

This term we will be reading the book

James & The Giant Peach

About The Author

Roald Dahl was born on the 13th September 1916 in Llandaff, Wales. His parents, Norwegian-born Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg Dahl named Roald after the first man to reach the South Pole. Sadly, Roald’s sister and father died in 1920 when he was just 3 years old, meaning he was raised alone by his mother in Wales.

Both of Roald Dahl’s parents wanted him to have the best education, and so Dahl attended the public schools of St. Peter’s boarding school in Weston-super-Mare, and then Repton Boarding School in Derbyshire from the age of 13. Dahl was very homesick and wrote to his mother nearly every week, which detailed parts of his school life. Significant moments such as the Cadbury's chocolate factory sending out boxes of new chocolate for children to try were recorded in these letters, moments which inspired future childrens books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Upon the outbreak of World War II, when Dahl was just 23 years old, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force. He trained to become a pilot in Kenya and Baghdad until he was commissioned as a Pilot Officer and joined the battles on the front line. In 1940, after an emergency landing, Dahl sustained a head injury and was transferred to the Royal Navy Hospital in Alexandria. He made a full recovery and by 1941 Dahl returned to fight in the War until its end in 1945.

After the War, Dahl was assigned to a new post in Washington D.C. During this time, he worked with other established British authors such as Ian Flemming, who wrote the James Bond series. Dahl was also working as a British spy during his time in Washington, and would provide information to MI6.

Dahl married Patricia Neal, an American actor, in 1953 at Trinity Church in New York. Over their 30-year marriage they had 5 children. His third child, Theo Dahl, sustained a serious injury when he was just 4 months old. To aid his recovery, Roald became heavily involved in the invention and development of the Wade-Dahl-Till, a device used to manage a condition where water is on the brain. This device has since been successfully used on children around the world.

Roald Dahl didn’t start writing children’s books until he had children himself. The first book to be published was James and the Giant Peach in 1961, followed closely by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Fantastic Mr. Fox was then released in 1970, and throughout the 1980s stories such as The Twits, Matilda and The BFG were published.

On 23rd November 1990, Roald Dahl died. He was 74 years old. He was buried at St Peter and St Paul’s parish church in Great Missenden, a small village in Buckingham.

Black History Month

Black History Month has been marked in the UK for more than 30 years. It takes place during the month of October. It is held to highlight and celebrate the achievements and contributions of the black community in the UK. Throughout history, black people have made huge contributions to society in the fields of art, music, science, literature and many more areas.

Campaign groups and charities like The Black Curriculum and Fill in the Blanks have also spoken out on the importance of black history being taught in schools. These campaigners believe all children and young people need to learn about the important roles black people have played throughout British history and the many contributions they have made to society today.

The children in Miss Mulligan's class chose a POC from history or current times and produced a poster telling about their life and achievements.