Hit the books

They say you can’t tell a book by its cover and that was certainly true at Wetherby Senior’s World Book Day book swap.

This Thursday and Friday, our current pupils are swapping books they have enjoyed with their peers. However, with each book being carefully wrapped in paper and only a short summary of the book inside provided, it means our young people are picking up some new and surprising texts that they might otherwise not have selected.

As part of World Book Day 2022, Wetherby Senior pupils and staff have also donated generously towards the London Children’s Book Project, a charity that works across the UK to redistribute thousands of new and gently used books to children and their families. Our donation boxes in Hannah House were overflowing by Thursday lunchtime, with books ranging from classics, by authors such as Enid Blyton, to modern works by David Walliams.

Finally, as part of our World Book Day celebrations, Years 7 to 9 also enjoyed a fascinating talk by London-based writer Tom Pollock. As well as being the author of five novels, Tom is an ambassador for Talklife, a peer support network for youth mental health where he blogs about his experiences of depression, anxiety and bulimia. Our boys heard more about from Tom about all of this and were able to ask him questions, before purchasing signed copies of his book over lunch.

Ms Murray, Head of our English Department, said: “At Wetherby Senior, we love taking part in World Book Day as it allows us to share and celebrate our love of reading. We would like to thank Tom for taking the time to talk to our boys, as well as thank all kindly supported our book donations for the London Children’s Book Project. And, to all pupils who took part in our book swap – happy reading!”