Book Week 2021

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”. — Dr. Seuss

From door decorations, to the favourite book hunt and dressing up as literary characters, the English department planned a range of activities and events to celebrate and promote reading during Book Week 2021.

The week began on 26th April, with Mr Nason’s Book Club who were joined by Phuc Tran, an American-Vietnamese author, to discuss his memoir Sigh, Gone. Vice Principal and Teacher of English Beth Hall, “This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to discuss their reading with the author and to gain valuable insights into the writing process.”

Throughout the week, Junior Phase students took the ‘More Readers’ oath and committed to reading in teams every day. Campuses were transformed with mysterious extracts from novels appearing on the floors. Tutor room doors were decorated in celebration of different literary genres – to name some, 9E opted for a Ghibli and anime themed door,  7E decorated their door with Pokémon. 10W created a Star Wars themed door and 10N put a Dr Suess twist on theirs, complete with Mr Nason’s headshot.

A Gothic reading area was also set up in the library where students could read Gothic tales including those written recently by Year 8 students. On both campuses students tried to match the teacher to their favourite book to discover who loves David Copperfield and who loves Peppa Pig Does Yoga? Diverse tastes indeed!

Students arrived in school to the sound of audiobooks and were challenged to identify readings from The Hobbit and The Raven.  At break time in the library, students brought books to life with dramatic readings.

During Thrive, Tai Wai students took part in a Book Week Quiz with teams competing in the Hall and other students following the quiz via Zoom from their form rooms.

The week culminated with the ever-popular, Dress as a Literary Character day on Friday, 30th April. Students and staff dressed up in the literary genre according to their House.

DA VINCI – Fantasy

EINSTEIN – Anime/Manga

FLEMING – Graphic Novels/Comics

NANSEN – Children’s Stories/Fables

RUTHERFORD –   Gothic Horror

WILBERFORCE – Sci-Fi

Even the Zoom staff briefing looked a little different that morning!

Gary Corlett, Head of English said, “A big special thank you to all the students and teachers for their support, and most importantly the English department for their hard work in setting these events up. We hope that everyone enjoyed the week and most importantly that everyone has been inspired to read.”

Click here to see the photo highlights of the week.

Article by the Media Team and the English Department