World Book Day: One Week On

As we head into the Year of Reading, and the nation encourages us all to “go all in” with reading, we certainly went ‘all in’ for World Book Day. As students arrived last Thursday morning they were greeted by staff dressed as well known, and well loved, book characters. From Dorothy in Oz, Gandalf the Grey, Long John Silver, Violet Beauregarde, and Willy Wonka himself… plus a whole host of other fantastic costumes. The question is… did anyone find Wally?!

Then it was time for The Masked Reader, pitting tutor group against tutor group, year group against year group, to be the first to guess who the mystery staff masked readers were. If there was an award for the most dramatic reading of Jurassic Park, it would certainly go to the dinosaur…. But which member of staff was it?

Well, the tutor group who knew, and knew in the the fastest time, was 8NSF - so well done to you. Your prize will be with you soon.

Students in Years 7, 8, and 9 had an extra special treat as they were invited to meet award winning author of Zero Point Girl, Rob Holmes. Haven been given the opportunity to pre-purchase his book at a discounted price, students received their copy after the talk and were able to have it signed by Rob, and ask him questions about his journey as a writer in a small Q&A. What struck us most about hearing from Rob is how he said that he thinks stories find the writers, and not the other way around. He believes that some stories are just meant to be written so they will find their way into the mind of a writer somehow. His new story, Zero Point Girl, played out to him like a movie in his mind and he just couldn’t help but to get it down on paper. It was also great to hear about Rob’s own progression as a reader and a writer. As a self-proclaimed reluctant younger reader, Rob talked passionately about how important reading is in helping us understand ourselves, and how crucial it was in making him a better writer. What shone through today was the love of stories, and how powerful they are.

The library was abuzz as usual during break times, but with World Book Day the team obviously put on some special activities. There was a World Book Day escape room which challenged our students to think outside the box to try and solve the clues and ‘escape’. There was also, by popular demand, some book Bingo taking place.

The winner of the escape room challenge was Saif - pictured here with his prizes. Well done, Saif!

We also sent every student in Years 7, 8, and 9 home with a free book. Some students have said they have read theirs already - which is fantastic!

📚In a world full of distractions, we hope that World Book Day reminded students about the joy of reading and stories. 📚