PUPILS at The Bromley Pensnett Primary School were treated to a visit from Michelin starred chef and TV personality Glynn Purnell.

Purnell, who is also a children’s author, stopped off at the school on June 30 to promote his latest book Arnold the Alpaca, which was published last year.

The Saturday Kitchen presenter read to the younger children while illustrator Ashley King demonstrated how he created the images for the book.

Older children engaged in an aspirations workshop, during which Glynn explained how his dream of becoming a chef began at age 11 after he prepared beans on toast for his family. Adding chopped onion and curry powder to the traditional dish was a hit with his younger siblings and from that day forth Glynn knew what he wanted to do.

The chef also donated signed copies of the book to the children and gave prizes to pupils who entered an Arnold the Alpaca themed art competition organised by the school.

Headteacher Justin Gray said of the chef's visit: "The children were enthralled by his reading of the book and our older pupils were inspired by the stories he shared about his life and career.

"Our aspirations workshops are designed to encourage our pupils to consider the type of futures they may wish to have and help them to understand they too can succeed if they are prepared to work hard to achieve their dreams.”

Purnell, who grew up in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, said: “Ashley and I had a fantastic time visiting the Bromley Pensnett Primary School. I’d like to thank all the pupils for a wonderful morning of fun and laughter.

"We particularly enjoyed judging an art competition from the different year groups.

"We were blown away by all the entries and struggled to choose a single winner."