The English corridor was buzzing this week with a host of activities aimed at promoting the joy of reading. World Book Day is always celebrated in style at Wallace, so read on to find out about what took place in school.
Table of Contents
Year 8 Creativity
Year 8 class sets were busy in Reading for Pleasure classes, designing doors for their Form Assembly rooms, which were then decorated with their class tutors during Pastoral period.
In the words of Dr Seuss,
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Here in Wallace, we firmly believe that reading opens many doors to opportunities, empathy and learning.
Head of Year 8 Emma Rogers commented,
“It was wonderful to see the team work and collegiality on display in Pastoral period and I’d like to thank the class tutors for their efforts in decorating the doors and encouraging discussion about reading.”
Lucy from 8z added,
“We loved designing book covers of our favourite books and creating a colourful book shelf design for our Form room door.”
The Great Wallace Book Swap
The Library was transformed at breaktime in to the Great Wallace Book Swap, with students from Years 8-14 joining staff to celebrate their shared joy of reading.
Obi enjoyed the breaktime activity,
“I loved being able to swap books with other students and to get some great ideas for new series which are definitely on my list now!”
Year 12 Supporting Reading in the Pre-Prep
Year 12 students took time out to visit our Pre-Prep pupils, acting as reading mentors and hearing all about the favourite books of the little ones, whilst sharing their childhood memories of reading. It prompted discussion on careers working with young people and was an incredibly rewarding experience.
Year 12 Felix commented,
“It was great to connect with the youngest members of our school community and share in their enthusiasm.”
Ben added,
“It was great fun and reminded me of my younger years, relaxing with a book.”
Luke also enjoyed the World Book Day activity,
“It’s great to be a role model for younger students and it was a lovely way to relax amidst the rigours of GCSE revision.”
Competition
Over 200 students took part in an interactive quiz, guessing the literary alter-egos of the English teachers. From Sherlock Holmes to Hester Prynne, Hermione Granger to Alice in Wonderland, staff embraced the opportunity to dress up and have fun.
Head of Department Gillian Weir commented,
“I was delighted to see the creativity of our team and thrilled that so many of our students were engaged in the quiz. It certainly promoted lots of literary discussion throughout the school and encouraged students to try new genres. A highlight for me was hearing our older students share ideas with our Year 8 pupils.
Reading for Pleasure
Our weekly Reading for Pleasure classes for Years 8 and 9 promote building reading as part of our routine, affording pupils the opportunity to share book recommendations and simply relax with a good book. It was great to see so many staff from across the school’s Departments willing to take part in superb podcasts with our Year 9 students, discussing the importance of reading in their lives. We are already looking forward to our ReadOn in the Autumn, when we will work closely with Cancer Fund for Children to raise much needed funds and continue in the legacy of altruism established by our founder Sir Richard Wallace. We firmly agree with the words of American writer Maya Angelou;
“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”
You can keep up to date with Wallace news via http://www.instagram.com/wallacehighlisburn
Find out more about what the English Department has to offer in the post below:
Last modified: March 12, 2025
