A TEACHER has gone the extra mile to inspire his pupils to write by penning his own book.

Peter Warr, an English teacher at Mount St Joseph’s High School, Farnworth, has written his first novel, which he hopes will be the first of many.

The Mystery of the Screaming Skull: A Gabriel Fynch Adventure, is inspired by Mr Warr’s love of the Hardy Boys novels. It sees a gang of friends uncover more than they bargained for on an adventure and get wrapped up in a heated election full of racial tension.

Mr Warr said: “I wanted the book to have a strong message. The plot line itself reflects my involvement in, and abhorrence at, the refugee crisis that has engulfed much of Europe over the last few years.

“When I was writing the book I thought, ‘what would the kids enjoy reading when in the classroom?’ I wanted it to be like a Netflix show with lots of cliffhangers in it, to show them that books can tell a good story too.”

Mr Warr has been writing the book for a few years but finished it during lockdown.

He said: “I’ve been able to say to the kids, ‘don’t waste time in lockdown and do something with purpose’. We’ve used some extracts in lessons recently which hopefully inspires the pupils. They might connect with the writing better if they know that I’ve done it rather than it being a historical figure they know little about.

“I can also pass on my own experiences about planning and writing stories for the book to help the pupils learn for their own writing.

"I hope it gets a message across too about what’s happening with the refugee crisis and shows pupils they can write about things that matter to them.”

Mr Warr self-published the book through Amazon and hopes it can be adapted into a Netflix series.

Kate Young, head of KS4 English received the book on behalf of the school to be put in the school’s library.

She said: “It’s a fantastic achievement for Peter.”