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On a frantic Christmas Eve in 1956, a BBC cameraman seeking refuge from the sleet ducked into Selfridges. There, sitting solitary on a shelf, was a small teddy bear that Michael Bond bought as a last-minute gift for his wife, Brenda.
In doing so, and in later going on to publish A Bear Called Paddington in 1958, he introduced one of the 20th century’s most enduring icons into the British consciousness: Paddington Bear.
This year marks the centenary of Bond’s birth, an anniversary that finds his most famous creation, a polite, marmalade-addicted bear from Darkest Peru, more relevant than ever. And at John Stainer Community Primary School, Brockley, that relevance was brought to life in the run-up to World Book Day.
The love for the bear remains unshakable among pupils following a special visit from the cast of Paddington: The Musical, a triple celebration marking World Book Day, the Michael Bond Centenary, and the National Year of Reading.
The festivities come at a sobering crossroads for British education. Recent statistics from the National Literacy Trust reveal a “quiet crisis” in the classroom: only one in three (32.7 per cent) children and young people aged eight to 18 say they enjoy reading in their free time, while only one in five (18.7 per cent) read daily. Both figures represent the lowest levels recorded since tracking began two decades ago.
Emma Pritchard, the head of the World Book Day campaign, who led the event, said: “One in three children say they don’t enjoy reading, and that’s a real problem if you’re then looking at their future prospects, but also those soft skills around empathy, creativity, imagination.
“For children, a lot of them see reading as a chore. We want to show them there is a different way to enjoy reading, and we’re trying to be part of the solution.”
But if there is an antidote to these statistics, it is found in the enduring magic of Bond’s storytelling.
To bridge the gap, Paddington: The Musical stars Timi Akinyosade (Tony), David Birch (Mr Brown) and Tarinn Callender (Grant) took centre stage in matching Paddington t-shirts at an assembly at the school for a live Q&A from pupils.
The pupils’ inquiries to the cast were as varied as they were earnest: How old is Paddington? How do you become an actor? And, perhaps most crucially, why does he love marmalade so much?
But the actors also shared how their own journeys began not on a stage, but on a page, explaining how stories shaped their careers and led them to the rehearsal room.
Akinyosade, 17, who has been working towards his A-levels while making his West End debut with Paddington, said he keeps copies of Paddington books on his dressing table backstage and regularly reads plays including Choir Boy and Death of England: Delroy.
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“I read them all. If I wasn’t performing or on stage, my head was just racing. I wasn’t the most concentrated kid in class,” he said.
“But reading books like Percy Jackson, and how he had a greater purpose, how his head was always racing, how that was a superpower for him, is a bit like being on the West End for me. It feels like being a superhero and genuinely feels like I have found my calling.
“If I can inspire at least one pupil in this school to embrace reading and even go into acting, that’s everything to me.”
For Callender, born in Paddington, the mission was personal. He spoke candidly about being diagnosed with dyslexia in his final year of drama school.
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s just about managing it and how it suits you. So I wanted to come in and speak about that,” he said.
“It was so refreshing to see young people just be like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got it.’ There is something really beautiful about it. I came with that mission to inspire, but I also got inspired by them, too.”
For George, 11, reading is a team sport. An avid fan of The Hunger Games and Alex Rider, he highlights the “social” success World Book Day strives for.
“There are three or four of us and we will all be reading the same thing, like Percy Jackson,” he explains. “I’ll ask, ‘What part are you up to?’ and we’ll talk about it.” It’s exactly the kind of organic connection the National Literacy Trust hopes to reignite.
The pupils were equally captivated by the sheer “randomness” of Michael Bond’s world. Luna, 10, who grew up on the cartoons and films, noted: “Anything can happen. You wouldn’t expect a bear to end up in London, but it surprises you and gives you something to think about.”
Kalani, 10, agreed, noting the “realistic” feel of Paddington in Peru: “I wouldn’t expect a bear to travel from Peru to London . . . somehow Paddington always finds himself in extraordinary situations.”
As every child left the hall clutching a copy of Paddington’s Finest Hour, the message was clear: 70 years after his debut, the bear from Darkest Peru is still going on inspiring all these years later.