We were delighted to welcome the author Ayaan Mohamud who visited school recently as part of the Bath Children’s Literature Schools Programme. Ayaan spoke to Year 9 students about her debut book You Think You Know Me which explores powerful themes such as bullying, Islamophobia and institutional racism through the narrative voice of a teenage Muslim girl whose friend is murdered.

During the talk Ayaan spoke eloquently about her Somali heritage and its lack of representation in YA fiction, describing the importance of giving voices to minorities everywhere. During the Q&A session our students were eager to glean writing tips from Ayaan who revealed that she wrote her book in six weeks during lockdown whilst training to be a doctor! Ayaan was an inspiring speaker encouraging students to write their own stories and, like her character Hannan, to be fearless in the face of injustice. We look forward to welcoming her back to RHSB in the future.