Size Twelve by Robert Westall

I am a big fan of Robert Westall and have read the majority of his books and it's sad he is not here to write any more books. This novel is a much easier read than his novels like The Machine Gunners and BiltzCat. Valley Road Primary School is very run down, the students are disinterested and unruly...and the teachers have given up. Then along comes one black cat with incredibly large paws who makes friends with one of the most feared boys in the school, Taffy Thomas. Taffy names him Size Twelve and school becomes a much nicer place to be. Students and parents start to see the school in new light and revamp the tired old school. However, Edward Druel, the psychologically-damaged school bully is not won over and Size Twelve is suddenly in grave danger. Westall had a facination for cats and they feature in many of his novels. There are ink drawings by Mark Robertson throughout the book which help bring the characters to life.