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This year, Blenheim High School celebrated World Book Day on Wednesday 1st March 2023 with a variety of activities all week.

Books encourage, guide, and entertain us; they teach us tough lessons and even hold our hand during turbulent times. No wonder they’re called our best friends for life! Wouldn’t you agree that getting lost in a book is one of the greatest feelings? 

World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared reading. Our mission here at Blenheim is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. Reading for pleasure has social benefits as well and can make people feel more connected to the wider community. Reading increases a person’s understanding of their own identity, improves empathy, and gives them an insight into the world view of others (The Reading Agency 2015). We want to see more children with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them.

The week began on Monday 27th February with our yearly World Book Day House Quiz, where each tutor group raced to the finish line to win points for their House.

On Tuesday 28th March, students across the school ventured into Walker on the English corridor with Miss Franks to watch an exclusive viewing of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. With snacks at the ready, students were taken into the world of murder and mystery when Hercule Poirot, the best detective in the world, decides to travel on the Orient Express. The train accidentally gets stopped because of a small avalanche. Little did the audience know that more than one person on the train was capable of committing murder.

On Wednesday 1st March, Blenheim celebrated World Book Day. Key Stage 3, Key Stage 5, students from Blenheim Book Club, The Blenheim Chronicles, KS4 Literature club and teachers dressed up as their favourite character. The Blenheim Book Club facilitated a cake sale during lunch break which was a great success providing sweet treats for all the characters around the school!

The Queen of Hearts, The Mad Hatter and the Playing Cards had escaped the rabbit hole for the day and were creating havoc around the school with Thing 1 and Thing 2; Cruella was marching the English corridor looking for Dalmatians for her fur coat; Little Red Riding Hood was trying to escape from the big bad wolf; Tigger was jumping around in reception and Hedwig was flying past the canteen; the Riddler was confusing everyone he bumped into and Handmaid’s were walking two by two with Pippi Longstockings. All in all, it was a fantastic turn out with some fabulous costumes – many home-made! Thank you to everyone who made an effort and contributed. A massive thank you to everyone at home behind the scenes that helped create such beautiful pieces.

As part of our World Book Day celebration, students across the school were invited to meet with Children’s author, Fiona Longmuir to take a look at her new novel, Looking for Emily. Fiona's debut novel, Looking for Emily, was published by Nosy Crow in June 2022. Her work has been shortlisted in the Bath Children's Novel Award and the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize.

Looking for Emily is a hugely gripping, fast-paced mystery adventure, with brilliant twists and turns, from a fresh and exciting new voice in children's books. When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she's sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye.

Fiona provided students with an insight into the process of being an author, from drafting to publication. Fiona even read snippets of her novel, which was extremely popular with the students! A select number of students from across the school were invited to a workshop with Fiona where they were given the opportunity to dissect the art of creative writing. Year 9 students, Honey Carpenter and Annabelle Du Plessis said that they felt “inspired and encouraged to write as are they currently looking at dystopian fiction in class”.

The thought-provoking session looked at writing from different perspectives, flipping the narrative to suit the task. Fiona provided anecdotal stories that inspired her to write Looking for Emily and included different ways that young aspiring authors can be inspired by their own experiences. With this Fiona shared her own influences and inspirations. Students also had the chance to see techniques they are learning in class being used in action. Fiona deconstructed the art of writing a narrative, teaching them how to create their own plot, settings and character. Students were engaged throughout and produced some amazing ideas.

On Friday 3rd March, students across the school attended ‘Blind Date with a Book’. Students randomly selected a secret novel to keep. From football to crime, the possibilities were endless! Finally, the week ended with a ‘Book Tree’ contest where students had to guess the number of books to win a prize.

Finally, reading is fundamental and has the ability to change lives. We hope that you will continue this celebration of literature and utilise the Primary and Secondary World Book Day tokens attached. You can also visit worldbookday.com for brilliant ideas and fun resources to complete at home and with friends.

A massive thank you to students, parents and teachers who have taken part, contributed and supported each event. We are proud to have such enthusiastic and committed students at our school and we hope that the love of reading continues, not just during World Book Day week, but each and every day.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss