Hiba Noor Khan visit – a story of unity and hope

We were so excited to welcome Hiba Noor Khan to HMS on Tuesday afternoon. Hiba came to present her first novel, ‘Safiyyah’s War’, to Y5 and Y6. Y6 are reading ‘Safiyyah’s War’ during Book Talk in form time this term. This luminously-written book is based on the inspiring, and little-known, resistance work run by the Grand Mosque of Paris during WW2 to save the lives of hundreds of Jewish people. The story is full of courage, compassion and community. Hiba enthralled her audience with her love of reading, writing and the importance of keeping a notebook for all those random or late-night ideas! She reminded us how stories help us to understand each other and make the world a kinder place.

HMS pupils in both years particularly loved being asked to imagine a tale behind a series of photographs in Hiba’s presentation. There was an enthusiastic and imaginative response by all!

Copies of Safiyyah’s War will be available to borrow from HMS Library very shortly. Huge thanks to everyone at Forum Books in Corbridge for making Hiba Noor Khan’s brilliant visit possible.