Students at Saint Paul’s took part in the biggest celebration of books and reading in the world when they participated in World Book Day.
World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading.
With the aim of inspiring and developing their students’ interest in reading, the school organised a full week of reading related activities including design a book cover, puzzles, story-times, a Harry Potter quiz and a “Guess how many books there are in the Library” competition.
“World Book Day is the perfect opportunity to raise the profile of reading for pleasure and engage our students in reading activities,” explained Ms Irena Savova, the school librarian. “The students become engrossed in the various competitions and activities and we know from past experience that the events will encourage them to further develop their love of reading.
Mr Jamie Sharrock, English teacher, said: “Research shows that teenagers who pick up a book for pleasure are more likely to succeed in life. The aim of World Book Day is to inspire people to read, it is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and the students enjoy participating in the event.”
“Reading is vital to young people’s development; it develops the mind and imagination and allows the reader to discover new things,” commented Headteacher, Mr Alex Hren . “Reading should be viewed as a real pleasure and we see World Book Day as a great way for us to encourage our students to read and enjoy more books.”
