James Lambert

I was born and bred in Liverpool, but I have been teaching in a small international school in Hong Kong for the last 17 years. My book is very loosely based on my experiences there. It is a humorous story which contains slightly bonkers teachers, students and parents of a fictional school located right on a beach.

The main character of Mr. Bell is constantly trying to keep control of events, but however hard he tries, more chaos usually ensues. Order is not helped by the hairy and mysterious Principal Mr. X, the bank robbing fugitive- teacher, Mr. Grimshaw, bean-bag wielding parents and a collection of fabulous children. Hettie for example, is convinced she is from the Victorian age, Oscar is obsessed with dead animals, Kyle believes his mum knows best and Jack is possibly the naughtiest child ever to have graced the Earth.

My inspiration for writing comes from my amazing school, and from books like Wayside school by Louis Sacher. As a busy teacher, who loves sharing stories with my pupils, I look for funny books, with stand-alone chapters that can be squeezed in at the end of the day.