Whole School Story
This is our story created by the children of Walsham-le-Willows CEVC Primary School for National Storytelling Week in January 2025
Taking Flight
Tony sat in the car, arms folded, staring out of the window as his dad pulled into Grandpa’s driveway. He already knew today was going to be boring. No video games, no friends — just a whole day stuck here.
“You’ll have fun,” Dad said. “Your grandpa used to be a lot of fun when I was your age.”
Tony raised an eyebrow. Used to be? That didn’t sound very promising.
The car stopped and Grandpa appeared at the door with a big smile on his face: “Well, if it isn’t my favourite grandson!”
Dad hopped out, handing Grandpa a backpack. “Some snacks, a book and a few things for Tony,” he said. Then he turned to his son and whispered quietly, “Sorry, bud, I’ve got to get to work. But really — have fun, okay?”
Tony just nodded, watching his dad drive away before Grandpa clapped his hands together. “Alright, kiddo. I’ve got to finish up the lawn. Sit tight in the garage for a bit.”
He plopped Tony onto an old wooden box before heading outside. The garage smelled of oil and sawdust, filled with stacked crates, dusty shelves and forgotten things of the past. Tony kicked his feet, glancing around — until something high up on a shelf caught his eye. A faded photograph.
He squinted. It was a picture of his dad as a kid, grinning from ear to ear.
Curious, Tony stood and reached for it but it was too high. He looked at the boxes around him, then carefully climbed onto one, then another, balancing on old toolboxes and crates. Just a little higher…
But then — crash!
The boxes wobbled and Tony tumbled backwards. Something hard hit the ground and a helmet rolled out of the clutter, skidding onto the lawn.
Grandpa turned at the sound and called, “Everything okay in there?”
Tony groaned, rubbing his elbow. “Yeah… I think so.”
Then he noticed what else had been revealed beneath the dust and boxes. A red wagon, its paint chipped and a little rusty, but still gleaming in the light: Radio Flyer.
Grandpa stepped inside and let out a low whistle. “Well, well. Would you look at that?” He ran a hand over the wagon, smiling. “This was your dad’s. We had all kinds of adventures with this thing.”
Tony looked up at his grandpa with interest and said, “Really?”
Grandpa grinned, “Oh, yeah. Want to take it for a spin?”
Tony hesitated, then nodded. Grandpa grabbed the handle, and together they rolled the wagon out onto the pavement.
As they picked up speed, the world around them began to shift. The ordinary street stretched into something bigger, brighter, wilder. And before Tony knew it, they weren’t just rolling down the road anymore…
They were off on an adventure to the sea. The old, red, rusty wagon landed on a whale's tail.
"HELP!" yelled Tony.
"Hold tight, this will be fun," said Grandpa.
The whale whizzed over the waves past a sneaky shark and a huge megladon with dark eyes and scary teeth. It landed near a desert island and flipped its tail. Grandpa, Tony, Ted and the wagon flew through the air and bumped down on to the sand. The hot sun sent them to sleep…
They were in the Enchanted Forest, looking at four very surprised elves who were having a meeting. In fact, Mr Whiskers was so shocked he fell backwards off his red and white spotted toadstool!
Suddenly, the old wagon started to sway and Tony and Grandpa found themselves being pulled up The Faraway Tree by Moonface, Old Saucepan Man and Mr Watzisname.
They waved to the Angry Pixie, who was in a good mood for once, dodged Dame Washalot's water and ate Toffee Shocks and Pop Cakes with Silky before whizzing down the Slippery-Slip. Tony, his teddy and Grandpa were excited for their next adventure.
Suddenly, Grandpa, Tony and Ted's little red wagon had been transformed into a magical stingray. As the stingray gracefully glided through the deep water of the ocean, they were surrounded by clouds of tiny brightly coloured glittering sea creatures.
Although Tony was scared, he also found himself feeling extremely excited. He had never been under the sea before, let alone ridden on the back of a stingray.
Grandpa noticed the frown on Tony's face and comforted him. "There, there, nothing to fear here, but hold on tight, I want to show you something".
As the stingray swooped effortlessly through the crystal-clear waters, Tony could see in the distance a field of vibrant sea plants. They were not like the plants in Grandpa's garden at all. These plants were oddly shaped and all the colours of the rainbow.
"Wow Grandpa! Am I dreaming?" Tony asked.
"No, my dear boy, these are sea plants called coral. We need to look after them because the creatures of the sea need them for food to eat and places to live.”
Tony gazed up and caught out of the corner of his eye a pod of dolphins. "Quick Grandpa! Dolphins! Can we get a closer look?"
Grandpa whispered into the stingray’s ear, too quietly for Tony to hear, then quick as a flash, their new vehicle, the stingray, whizzed upwards and settled near the surface.
Tony and Grandpa were immediately surrounded by beautiful, friendly dolphins. They could hear the dolphins muttering in their own language, weaving and leaping over them, breaking through the waves to dance in the dazzling blue sky.
Out of nowhere, Grandpa, Tony and Ted were engulfed in an inky black cloud. They felt eight slimy sucker-coated tentacles wrap around them. Tony held onto Ted tightly. All of a sudden, the squid released its grip, leaving a trail of black ink as it swam away.
"Why did it swim away? " said Grandpa.
But they weren't ready for what was coming.
The giant squid was coming back....
Quickly and stealthily, Tony gripped onto the nearest piece of slimy seaweed that he could find while Grandpa distracted the squid (by pulling funny faces). Carefully, Tony weaved the seaweed in and out of the confused squid’s tentacles as it found itself more and more trapped.
All of a sudden, the Radio Flyer transformed into a bright red time traveller and Tony, Ted and Grandpa landed right in front of what looked like an ancient tomb. Surrounding the tomb was a vast, golden desert and somewhere in the distance they could see a cluster of pointed pyramids. Bewildered and confused, shocked and surprised, Tony and his Grandpa surveyed the area and saw a huge sphynx proudly guarding the tomb entrance. “We must have travelled back in time,” Tony muttered to himself.
In the distance, Tony spotted some unusual markings on the dusty wall. “What are these strange pictures on the wall, Grandpa?” he asked curiously.
“These are Egyptian hieroglyphs. I remember seeing them when I visited Egypt a few years back with your father,” Grandpa explained.
Because the Radio Flyer, which had run out of fuel, was charging in the sunlight, they had to investigate on foot. Intrigued, fascinated, interested, Tony and his Grandpa cautiously made their way into the exciting tomb. As they entered the first mysterious chamber, they saw an intricate, gold-plated sarcophagus gleaming in front of them. With a sudden boom, the entrance to the tomb began to shrink as jagged rocks and fragments fell before them like a waterfall. Everywhere they looked, there was no way out…
Fearing that they were destined to be buried alive in Ancient Egypt for all eternity, Tony and Grandpa braced themselves for the final boulder to fall… Then, out of the corner of his eye, Tony glimpsed a strange and unexpected sight: a giant fist smashing through the rocks! Suddenly, the fist grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him free of the wreckage. Terrified, Tony began to squirm and flail his arms wildly before he was lifted face to face with…
Rubeus Hagrid, the Groundskeeper of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
Bamboozled, Tony stuttered: “What are YOU doing here?”
Hagrid’s hairy, weathered face crinkled into a smile.
“You’re a wizard, Tony!” he boomed and his deep, gruff voice echoed around the ruined chamber.
A muffled groan erupted from beneath a nearby pile of rubble.
“Whoops, I nearly forgot about you!” Hagrid muttered under his breath and lumbered over to rescue Grandpa – lifting the heavy rocks as effortlessly as if they were feathers. Emerging from his ‘tomb’, covered in dust and looking like a Psammead, Grandpa asked eagerly, “Am I a wizard too?”
“Er, no,” Hagrid replied quietly. “You’re definitely a Muggle.”
An awkward and deafening silence descended on the strange group, before Tony cleared his throat and asked again why Hagrid was there.
“Oh, sorry – I almost forgot!” Hagrid laughed, smacking his huge hand against his forehead. “Dumbledore sent me – you’re needed at Hogwarts to help in the battle against Voldemort!”
“What?!” Tony exclaimed in disbelief.
But Hagrid gave no more explanation other than to brandish his pink, flowery umbrella and give it a clumsy swish.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then a squeaking, whirring sound announced the arrival of the red, rusty Radio Flyer – enchanted to fly as gracefully as Buckbeak.
“Get in then,” Hagrid bellowed and dumped Tony, Grandpa and the teddy unceremoniously into the wagon. With a slow and slightly ominous wave, he wished them luck and sent them on their way.
Immediately, Radio Flyer zoomed into the air and the landscape around them transformed into a blur of colour as they were swallowed by a giant, emerald vortex that had appeared right in front of them. Tony felt as though he was being pulled and stretched almost to the point of spaghettification before just as suddenly, they were spat out into the air right above Hogwarts Castle.
Perched on a jagged rock and surrounded by a lake that gleamed like diamonds, the castle sat shrouded in mist with the glowering Dark Mark hovering above. Bursts of green, red and yellow sparks from the wand fight taking place in the courtyard below lit up the sky like a firework.
Hurtling towards the battle, Tony and Grandpa clung to the wagon as they flew closer and closer to the cruel and malicious figure of Lord Voldemort.
“Do we even have a plan?” Grandpa shrieked in a traumatised voice, his face etched in terror.
Tony looked around wildly for an idea or better still, a wand. Feeling more and more desperate, he barely noticed teddy moving to the front of the wagon.
“What are you doing?” Tony yelled in bewilderment.
Standing silently and heroically with his tiny turquoise chest puffed out and his paws on his hips, he glared stoically at the Dark Lord.
“Leave this to me,” he squeaked, before clearing his throat and trying again. “Leave this to me,” he repeated in exactly the same high-pitched voice.
In slow motion, teddy leapt from Radio Flyer and raised his paw – pointing it directly at Voldemort’s noseless, red-eyed, snake-like face.
“Avada kedava!” he screamed, leaping from the wagon and into the chaos below.
In a lightning flash, Voldemort’s cloaked figure was ripped apart into a thousand pieces that floated into the air like ash. Tony and Grandpa stared at each other in shock, still floating in the little red wagon over the courtyard filled with hordes of confused wizards, witches and beasts. After a few seconds of stunned silence, a triumphant cheer filled the air: a wild and deafening tsunami of joy. Everyone gathered below raised their wands in a grateful salute to teddy and the Radio Flyer, saying: “Lumos maxima!”
The blinding light from a thousand wands shone straight into Tony’s eyes and…
…focused into a piercing, yellow glare. He squinted, gripping the sides of the wagon tightly. Was it another portal? A spaceship?!
Then — honk honk!
The dazzling glow softened into familiar headlights and the sound of an engine idling filled the air. Tony blinked as the magical world around him melted away and suddenly, they were back in Grandpa’s driveway.
His dad stepped out of the car, eyes widening at the sight of them. “What happened here?” he asked, taking in Tony’s ink-smudged face, grass-stained jeans and Grandpa’s sand-covered shirt. “You two look like you’ve been wrestling a tornado.”
Tony glanced at Grandpa, then down at the Radio Flyer, still warm from the day’s adventures.
Dad’s gaze followed his, and for a moment, his face softened with nostalgia. He walked over and ran a hand over the old red wagon, smiling. “Did Grandpa tell you about the time we took this thing to the moon?”
Tony’s eyes widened. “To the moon?”
Grandpa let out a chuckle. “Oh, I almost forgot that one!”
Suddenly, the driveway shimmered and shifted. The ground beneath them became silver dust, the sky a deep, endless black dotted with stars. The Radio Flyer transformed - its wheels retracting, thrusters humming to life.
Tony looked down — he was wearing a bulky astronaut suit with an iridescent visor reflecting the glow of the Earth behind him. His dad and Grandpa stood beside him, suited up, ready for liftoff.
“Mission control, we’re ready for launch!” Dad called out with a grin.
Tony laughed, hopping into the Radio Flyer. “Countdown in three… two… one — blast off!”