King's College London
King's College London
09/26/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/26/2025 07:30
Author Sir Michael Morpurgo inspires students at King's Opening of Year Ceremony
King's alum, world-renowned author and former Children's Laureate, Sir Michael Morpurgo welcomed students to the new academic year at this year's Opening of Year Ceremony.
King's alum, world-renowned author and former Children's Laureate, Sir Michael Morpurgo welcomed students to the new academic year.
Sir Michael, who is also a King's Honorary Fellow, speaking at the Opening of Year Ceremony this week combined personal anecdotes of his time at the university with his hopes and encouragement for the year ahead.
Reminiscing about what King's meant to him, he remembered it as place for the making of friends, telling the students that friendships made will be as "life changing as the books you read and the ideas you're considering."
"It's about knowledge and understanding and, particularly in this day and age that we live in, knowledge and understanding about one another."
Sir Michael Morpurgo, world-renowned author and former Children's LaureateHe shared a piece he'd written for the occasion called "lurruping on", a word he'd made up to reflect on his experiences of growing older. He spoke about wanting to "remain in contact as much as possible with the young, which is why I'm here today". He also spoke about the charity for children he set up with his wife Clare.
Following the speech, which took place on Thursday 25 September in the King's College Chapel, the author participated in a Q&A in the Great Hall moderated by Edmund Gordon, Reader in Creative and Critical Writing. Sir Michael reflected about the times he'd had been in the room as a student, his pre-writing career as a teacher, the challenges of writing about emotional topics for younger readers and how he balances factual research with creative storytelling.
He recalled his time as a teacher where he'd take his class on trips to the local wetlands and encourage them all to write after the trip. He also spoke about the start of his writing journey, why challenging themes often appear in his books and how he feels his "job as a writer is to pass on how he feels about the world". Sir Michael reflected on his upbringing, saying that he was surrounded by education.
"I came from a home where there were books everywhere. We didn't have walls in our house, we had bookshelves. My family was full of historians, teachers, actors and authors. So, there was a great expectation that Michael Morpurgo was going to be a genius!"
Sir Michael Morpurgo, world-renowned author and former Children's LaureateHe went on to contemplate how a love of reading can be encouraged in children, saying that it's crucial to make time in the day for reading and that "we need to offer children the opportunity to access the best of what's in the arts."
SirMichael graduated from King's College London in 1967 with a degree in French, English and Philosophy and enjoyed an acclaimed career as a children's author. He is a former Children's Laureate, and best-selling author of over 150 books, including Private Peaceful, Kensuke's Kingdom, The Butterfly Lion, and War Horse, which became a hugely successful National Theatre production and film by Steven Spielberg.
Recalling how "unbelievably moving" it was the first time he saw the stage adaption of War Horse, he told the audience: "I was amazed that they'd dared to do such a thing…I couldn't take my eyes or my heart off it."
Together with his wife Clare, Sir Michael is also the co-founder of Farms for City Children, a charity which gives children from disadvantaged communities the opportunity to experience life in the countryside, and in 2018 he received a Knighthood for services to both literature and charity.
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