I was working in my office (which is off of the school library) on Thursday morning and I started to hear a familiar story being read that was an old favourite of mine as a child – and still is if I am honest.  To start with, I recognised some of the lines but couldn’t quite place the title.  Then it came to me.  ‘The Twits’ by Roald Dahl.  If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it – even for adults.

I continued working but soon realised that I was listening to the story more so than concentrating on my work.  I therefore left my office and sat at the back of the library with the group of Year 7 students to listen to the story properly.

Mr Cox was sat in a chair reading the book with all of the students sat watching him, thoroughly captivated.  He used different voices for each character, physically acted out a few actions referenced in the book and basically made the story come alive.  Regular bursts of laughter from the students showed how much they were enjoying themselves.

As you will see from the video, at one point, Eric (Year 7 student) even gets up to physically demonstrate what is happening to Mr and Mrs Twit in the book.

Jackanory (the popular BBC children’s programme designed to stimulate interest in reading) was first aired in 1965 but the final episode was in 1996.  After Mr Cox’s performance, perhaps the BBC should consider giving him a call to re-launch the show.