World Book Day 2023

What a hoot World Book Day is, a favourite fixture in the Farnborough Hill diary.  An annual celebration of books and stories, characters and authors. A real party atmosphere in the School with lots of dressing up of wild and wacky characters, staff as well as girls.

Who will forget the Science Department dressing up as Minions, the Art Department becoming Mr Men, or the Senior Leadership Team becoming crayons from The Day The Crayons Quit?  The Mathematics Department went all-out on their Winnie the Pooh theme, even featuring the iconic blue balloons.  Across the School there could be seen Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatters, Sherlock Holmes, Skellig, lots of pigs and pirates, Manga characters, and you could not miss the Year 7 Teletubbies.

I, myself, dressed up as Sarah and Duck in honour of the Duck Squad (aka the Pupil Librarians).  But remember, books are not just for World Book Day, they are for pleasure, well-being, learning, and for life. 

We had an online 'Get Caught Reading' competition, where pupils had to guess the members of staff hiding behind their books in each photo.  The winner was Mia (10α), who won a Farnborough Hill teddy.

In Form Time, pupils enjoyed another competition where they looked at childhood photos of staff, alongside their favourite childhood book, to try to guess who was who.

The community at Farnborough Hill has, in my biased opinion, an amazing Library full of books and it is so well used.  With so many books being borrowed and read, sometimes it is hard to keep up with the overflowing returns box.  I love the excited conversations about what the girls have just read.  The variety of books that are being read often amazes me too.  The quick task of popping books back on the shelves often becomes a whole afternoon adventure as I am captivated by the blurbs on the back, and I find myself down rabbit holes of authors and follow-up books.  My 'to read pile' is quickly becoming a 'to read Library'.

Ironically this week, we had our first Bingo card winner, Holly (7A).  Holly finished her whole card, earning a Heads Commendation and a £10 book token for her to continue her reading journey.  Many more Bingo cards are having lots of rows and columns completed so it will not be long before Year 8 get their first winner.

I overheard lots of conversations on World Book Day about books, characters and authors, with the current media-fuelled topic on Roald Dahl books being re-written being hotly debated.  The Year 10 girls were unanimous when they said "but it was written at a time when people thought that way, it is good that we are enlightened enough to know the difference".  I think that is because they have a Library full of choices and a school that loves and encourages reading.

Ms Cathrin Woods