On Tuesday 7th March, a group of 35 Year 7 pupils visited Forum Books in Corbridge as part of our school’s World Book Day celebrations, in support of our quest to foster an enjoyment of life-long reading.
For many of our pupils this was their first visit to Forum Books (and for a few, their first experience of a book shop), so there was a real buzz around the prospect of having the entire shop to themselves for an hour in order to browse at their leisure and to choose a book of their own to take home. The pupils worked with teachers and the highly-knowledgeable book shop staff in order to consider their interests, hobbies and any books they have already enjoyed, and to use these to support their book choices. A fantastic range of fiction and non-fiction was selected, and in some cases pupils were encouraged to step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to select a book they wouldn’t ordinarily choose. One pupil stated she simply couldn’t choose because there was so much to look at, and another was so keen to start reading their book that they made themselves comfortable in a quiet corner while others continued to peruse! A group of girls had such difficulty making a decision that – in the end – they reached the conclusion they could each choose a different book and then swap them once they have finished reading – a brilliant plan!
The staff at Forum Books were highly complimentary of our pupils for their conduct and how respectful they were of the books when browsing.
The excitement didn’t stop there, as once we arrived back at school, pupils had designated reading for pleasure time in our comfortable reception area, and they were even treated to some delicious hot chocolate and cream cakes, organised by our fantastic kitchen staff.
Mrs Wright said “It was absolutely wonderful to see our pupils engrossed in their new reads and to have pupils comment that they wished they could have had the remainder of the morning to continue reading. We sincerely hope it has inspired our pupils to continue making reading selections and to try something new”!
I’d like to thank Mrs Digby, Miss Laws, Mr Robinson and Miss Gill for their support on the day.
