Reading Week

Last week heralded the start of our annual Reading Week which proved, once again, to be a roaring success. Students from all year groups were immersed in literature to highlight the importance of reading, cultivate excitement about books and help generate a lifelong passion for literature.

Visiting the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, our year 8 students were given the opportunity to develop and consolidate their understanding of the contextual issues raised in texts such as Private Peaceful and White Poppies. This experience presented a powerful and humbling insight into how war continues to shape and change lives.

This was further highlighted by Mrs Joanna Millan, a holocaust survivor who visited the college to share her testimony with our year 10 students. Joanna was born Bela Rosenthal in 1942 in Berlin. She relayed the story of her father who was taken from the streets of Berlin in 1943 and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau where he was later killed. Later that year, Bela and her mother were taken from their home and sent to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp 50 miles outside of Prague. Joanna’s account was hugely compelling and our year 10s were captivated by her tale. More fascinating information about Joanna can be found here.

A number of exciting and fun activities took place throughout the week. Our hugely successful Who’s Behind the Book? competition continued to befuddle students who attempted to discover the identity of the member of staff photographed behind their favourite book.

Reading it’s a piece of cake! presented creative challenge to students who were encouraged to design and bake a cake inspired by a novel they have particularly enjoyed. The standard of entries was extremely impressive with some excellent representations of The Hunger Games, Romeo and Juliet, Harry Potter and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves submitted. Well done to Bethany and Lydia, two of our year 7 students who impressed our special judges with their inspired creations.

In addition, we launched our ‘Recycle Reading’ campaign which aims to encourage a wider range of reading. The programme enables students to bring in a book they have read in exchange for another title, therefore celebrating reading and encouraging students to discover new stories while recommending their own favourite authors. Come on . Recycle your Reading!