GLF schools celebrate World Book Day

Toad of Toad Hall, the Gruffalo, and a host of heroes, heroines and villains are out in force today as schools across GLF celebrate World Book Day.

At Southgate Primary School, children from Reception to Year 6 enjoyed a production of Wind in the Willows, which was staged by Hobgoblin Theatre Company earlier in the week, while today the school is hosting a Book Fair run by Gobbledy Books, and pupils and staff alike are dressed as their favourite characters.

“World Book Day allows us to focus on reading for pleasure,” said Southgate’s Phonics and English Lead, Claire Venugopal. “Encouraging children to develop a love of reading at a young age is the single most important thing we can do as educators to ensure our children have the best life chances as possible as they grow.”

Chestnut Park Primary School children have dressed as their favourite fictional ‘heroes and heroines’ for World Book Day, while activities at the school include ‘spotlights’ on chosen authors, a Reading Challenge, classroom door decorations, visits to Waterstones, and a book swap, as well as guest teacher readings, Book Character Parades, and a Book Fair. 

“At Chestnut Park, in celebration of World Book Day, we have had a week of activities across the school,” said English Lead Michael Longdon. “These events were organised to encourage a love of reading among our pupils and set up some future initiatives long-term.”

World Book Day has become World Book Week at Warren Mead Infant and Junior Schools too, where the theme is ‘Heroes versus Villains’.  Children from Nursery to Year 6 are taking part in a week-long celebration of all things literary, including a fancy dress competition, re-enactments of favourite stories, library trips, and visits from authors Louie Stowell and Tina Talbot.

“At Warren Mead, our commitment to nurturing a love for reading transcended beyond just a day,” said Claire Raney, Year 5 teacher and Reading Lead at Warren Mead. “This immersive, week-long celebration not only instilled a passion for reading but also reinforced our commitment to promoting reading for pleasure throughout the school community.”

Characters created by two children’s authors provided the inspiration for Danetree Primary School’s World Book Day celebrations, with Early Years and Key Stage 1 pupils focusing on the books of Julia Donaldson, whose works include The Gruffalo, while Key Stage 2 are enjoying activities based around Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates series. Children are also dressed as favourite characters from the books, and will attend an author visit and a Book Fair.

“World Book Day is extremely important for our school community, as it is a great opportunity to celebrate the love of books and reading,” said Rafaella Shearmur, Lead Practitioner and Literacy Leader at Danetree.

Children at Cordwalles Junior School came to school in fancy dress to enjoy a literary lunch – complete with ‘Bookworm Burgers’.

Staff at the school have recorded themselves reading 30-second extracts from their favourite books for the children to guess their identities, while other book-themed competitions include a bookmark-decorating contest and a story treasure hunt. 

World Book Day is ‘Word Day’ at Cuddington Croft Primary School, where children are dressed as words, ready to take part in a ‘Vocabulary Parade’. Other book-centred activities include ‘Stop, Drop and Read’, and a ‘Teacher Swap’, where staff members visit different classes to share books.

“We love World Book Day at Cuddington, and the opportunity that it provides to celebrate our love for reading,” said Reading Lead Rebecca Davies. “It brings a lovely community feeling, as we admire the costumes, stories and writing of everybody around us.”

Key stage 2 at Aureus Primary School were joined by Rab Ferguson, the author of  'The Late Crew', the award-winning children's book series about young carers investigating aliens. The Late Crew was awarded Best Indie Young Reader 2023 at the UK Children's Literature Festival. Thank you to Be Free Young Carers, the Oxfordshire children's charity who support many of our children and families, for organising the visit.

Windmill Primary School have organised a Windmill Book World Cup for Years 1 to 6. To engage children for the week of World Book Day, classes have been sharing books at their daily story time. Finalist books are Marmalade by David Walliams and GHOSTS- Horrible Histories.

Children have completed the Read Your Way display competition, enjoyed a Scholastic book fair and created Class Swap challenges where the older and younger children work together to solve book challenges. For example: guess the traditional tale from a setting drawing or who's favourite book is this?

For 'Read your way' World Book Day itself they have gone all out on their favourite stories with teachers dressed as their classes current class story.

Pine Ridge and Lorraine Infant Schools hosted a 'Come and Read with me' parent event in their library, with children taking part in a parade and creating their own character potatoes.  In the afternoon, parents and carers were invited into the schools to read a book with their child, an event that was extremely well attended!

Our secondary schools are also celebrating today, with Glyn School welcoming a visit from award-winning author, film maker and writer Matt Dickinson, whose work for National Geographic TV, the Discovery Channel and the BBC has taken him to Mount Everest, Antarctica, Greenland, and the Sahara Desert, as well as the world’s highest active volcano.

At Meridian High School, students are dressing as their favourite literary characters as well as taking part in a ‘Masked Reader’ contest on social media, where they are challenged to identify members of staff reading excerpts from favourite books with their voices disguised. 

“World Book Day is, and always has been, incredibly important here at Meridian High School,” said Assistant Headteacher Amy Stimpson. “To us, promoting a love of reading is just as important at secondary school as it is at primary school.

“World Book Day offers the opportunity for staff and students to share their favourite stories, characters and fictional works, as well as being a chance to dress up and partake in activities and competitions.”