Library update: 'buddies', Book Clubs and more

by Ms Nylinder, the Librarian

The Autumn term has been packed with activities involving reading and sharing good books.

The Year 7 students were welcomed with a surprise read from their prospective 'buddy' at their Library induction in September (photo above). Books were wrapped up as a present with the description written on the outside; they also contained a welcome note from our current Year 8 students who had selected and prepared the books before the summer holidays.

Connecting through a 'blind date with a book’ proved a great success for both the giver and the student who received the recommended read. At the end of the academic year, it will be our Year 7s’ turn to prepare their book surprises for next year’s new cohort.

The weekly Book Clubs are back in full swing and in a new guise. We have amalgamated the year groups to extend the sharing of books and friendships. The Year 12 students who supervise the groups are doing a fantastic job facilitating inspiring discussions. The Year 7 & 8 group (photo above) is particularly busy and lively, which is a great achievement considering they meet before school on a Monday morning.

The theme of this year’s House Reading Challenge tying in with Reading Week was “Read around the Globe”. Students were challenged to read books set on different continents, which for many involved stepping out of their comfort zone of reading. It was truly rewarding to learn how much the students enjoyed exploring diverse places, cultures, and people through books.

Burton took the lead right from the start, and won convincingly, but Stark was not far behind. Livia T-G (photo below) in Year 7 was the worthy winner of the competition’s special prize: £10 to spend on books from Amazon. She secured Burton’s victory by reading an impressive 11 books. A special mention to Hannah L, Year 7, who was Stark’s reading champion, threatening Burton’s lead until the final moment.

The library is excited to have been awarded funds from the HSBC & GDST Partnership Funding to run an Eco Reading and Learning project with Oasis Putney Academy, a local primary school. The project will run throughout the academic year with students from the two schools learning together and from each other about climate action and sustainability. The launch of the project flagship, The Eco Reading Challenge, was wonderful and a huge success thanks to the brilliant team of Putney High School students who helped at the event (photo below). They will continue to work with and support the primary school students in their challenge to read a set number of books from their Library’s new eco-collection.