Justin Arnold

I am a professional Santa Claus, working in grottos, garden centres, schools, and hospices, bringing Christmas magic and wonder to children of all ages.

As a former teacher, and professional magician, I am able to engage and entertain children individually, or large groups, to create lasting memories.

• Having been a teacher in the UK for over 25 years, I have a great deal of experience interacting and engaging with children of all ages, including those with special needs or requirements. I am able to provide a supportive, positive experience to nervous, challenging, or simply enthusiastic children, as well as calmly handling larger groups of children.
• I have been performing magic professionally since the 1980s, including stage and theatre shows, close-up, and many, many children's shows. As a highly experienced children's entertainer, I am able to capture their imaginations, and perform magical effects and routines to entertain large groups, or reassure and enchant younger or more anxious children.
• Originally a teacher of English & Drama, I have experience as an actor in many theatre shows, as well as a voiceover artist for radio theatre productions. With the ability to embody a larger than life character with a strong presence and powerful voice, I am able to bring the magic of theatre to a highly convincing portrayal of Santa Claus.
• A former teacher for 25 years, and with a current up-to-date DBS registration and certificate, I have a clear understanding of how to handle children safely in a wide range of situations to ensure peace of mind for everyone.

From comedy to jaw-dropping mind-reading, and from stage illusions to close-up magic right under your nose...

With over 35 years of experience, I've performed magic in a variety of settings—from grand stage illusions to intimate close-up shows. My performances have captivated audiences in theatres, schools, nightclubs, and private events across the UK.

As an active member of several UK magic societies, I've had the honor of winning multiple competitions in both close-up and stage magic categories. These accolades reflect my commitment to the craft and my continuous pursuit of excellence in magical entertainment.

Beyond performing, I offer consultancy services for theatre productions aiming to incorporate magical elements. Whether it's designing illusions for a play or coaching actors on sleight-of-hand techniques, I collaborate closely with directors and production teams to bring a touch of magic to the stage.

I have worked professionally as a copywriter, ghostwriter, and editor since 2008, and have also published three books under my own name. I am currently working on a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi novel for adults, as well as a new series of stories for young children.

In 2010 I founded an SEO copywriting agency that ranked #1 and #2 on Google, Yahoo, and Bing all at the same time for 10 of the top SEO copywriting search terms, and had both writers and clients around the world. I have ghost-written books for several professionals, including in the fashion industry and theological world. Today I combine my computer science background with my writing experience to create and edit content for high-profile technology companies and software developers.

• Longfeather Learns To Fly: Everyone knows that Longfeather is ready to fly. Everyone, that is, except for Longfeather. Longfeather wants to learn to fly, but he’s worried he isn’t ready. Will he learn the most important lesson of all, and get off the ground to fly with his friends in the sky? This charming story, beautifully illustrated, carries an important message about the importance of trying, and of believing in yourself.
• A Tale Of Moonlight: A Tale of Moonlight is a story of darkness and light, of fire and shadow. It is a story about the Queen of Darkness and the Queen of Fire, and reveals a great secret about where the moon really came from. An imaginative story for children aged around 5-8, A Tale of Moonlight is an exciting, engaging story which offers a new way of understanding the pattern of day and night, of how the moon was created, and explains why the darkness is not something to be feared.
• 105 Ways To Beat Writer's Block: 105 Ways To Beat Writer's Block contains a wealth of practical tips, tricks, exercises and techniques to help kick-start the writing process if it's ground to a halt. If you're looking for help, struggling with plot, battling with characters or simply find your creative mind frozen in the harsh glare of a blank white screen then this is the ideal resource to have handy.

I've been uploading video tutorials since well before YouTube launched, but my main channel has been active since 2008, delivering highly popular Computer Science and IT tutorials, from fixing Excel issues to coding your own Pacman game.

My channel, 'The Tech Train', is regularly used every day by schools and educational organisations across six continents to help deliver coding lessons from primary to GCSE level. The channel is also widely used by teachers to help develop inspiring learning resources, and many of the most popular videos on the channel are relied on by business professionals to help solve annoying tech issues.

• Create Your Own Pacman Game in Scratch: With over a million views, this 13 part video series teaches students how to create their own fully working version of the classic arcade game Pacman, using the visual coding platform Scratch. Each video introduces new coding concepts, enabling students to learn the fundamentals of coding whilst enjoying developing their own version of a classic game.
• Create Your Own Platform Game in Scratch: A 14 part video tutorial teaching students step-by-step exactly how to create their own fully working platform game using the popular Scratch coding environment. Students are taught the meaning of basic coding constructs and methods, and are encouraged to make their own decisions and choices throughout the process.
• Learn to Program in Small Basic: One of the most popular text-based programming languages for beginners, this 16 part video series introduces all of the main programming concepts and ideas through a range of practical and fun little projects, to help students create fully working apps, tools, and games, whilst learning the fundamentals of computer programming.

I'm a fully qualified (A2 CofC) CAA-registered and fully insured drone pilot, with several years' experience of flying drones in a variety of environments. I have worked with both private individuals and commercial businesses to create both videos and photographs from unique perspectives.

Through my professional drone service, SkyPix, I have worked with multi-national, multi-million pound companies, as well as smaller commercial businesses and private individuals.

• Aerial House Portraits: I regularly receive commissions to create aerial photographs of people's homes, either for individuals to enjoy, or as part of a property listing by estate agents. This provides unique perspectives that help to showcase properties in ways that really help to provide context and artistic appeal.
• Aerial 360° Photo Spheres & Virtual Tours: Nothing quite helps to allow an immersive experience of a location that a fully interactive 360° photo sphere, viewable either in VR or embedded within a browser for desktop or mobile. Whether showcasing birds-eye views of cities, dramatic cliffs, or rolling countryside, I have helped to create a number of high definition photo spheres for golf courses, agricultural machine developers, and property agents.
• Aerial Videography & Corporate Videos: I have worked with a number of businesses, from retail to agriculture, to help create engaging promotional videos through the use of aerial video, capturing movement, angles, scale, and context that would be impossible otherwise, and in a way that is safer, more convenient, and much quicker.

I have been a classroom teacher in the UK for 25 years, having started out teaching English & Drama, and then moved into IT & Computer Science, becoming Head of IT in three secondary schools. I was also appointed the Computer Science specialist involved with teacher training across three counties, and worked as a moderator with the AQA exam board for GCSE Computing.

Teaching has always been a passion of mine, from helping to inspire students in IT & Computer Science to delivering INSET training to professional teachers, and from producing online video tutorials for use by schools around the world to helping train future Computer Science teachers at university, I love the excitement that comes from sharing knowledge, and seeing someone grow and take their next steps in life.

Today I am helping mentor professional writers and copywriters working within the technology industry, developing cutting-edge teaching materials to support GCSE Maths students in collaboration with a leading UK-based educational provider, and continuing to produce educational videos for educational establishments on Computing, IT, 3D modelling, and games development through my YouTube channel.