Book Fair

By the time you read this, all pupils should have their books from last week’s Book Fair. This year we trialled an independent local company, Bookwagon, who offer bespoke book fairs featuring hand-picked titles. The Fair offered pupils the chance to choose from a selection of quality, new titles which many had not come across before – some titles were so newly-published I hadn’t even received library copies yet!

Pupils were brought in with their forms, with Bookwagon staff talking them through each of the titles on offer, explaining what they were about and why they were so interesting to read. Bookwagon only ever choose titles they have read and loved, meaning they can talk with confidence about every title on offer. With options in picture books and graphic novels through to comedy, adventure and a number of football titles, the children all enjoyed browsing through the array of books. Each book was offered at a flat, discounted rate of £5 or £10 – a saving of almost £3 on some titles.

Thanks to parents’ generosity, I am pleased to report that pupil sales resulted in library commission of just under £350 – an enormous thank you to everyone who sent cash in with their child.

After the Fair, several of my Upper School pupil Library Assistants took time to browse the Bookwagon website and submitted a list of suggested reads: I then selected one from each pupil and added them to the rest of the Library’s order.

During our meeting on Thursday, the Library Assistants were delighted to dig through the box and see their choices in the flesh. They also helped to process their titles by adding in library labels and covering them with plastic jackets, learning new skills that will count towards their Level 1 librarianship award.

Again, a huge thank you to all parents who supported the Fair, and of course to all the teachers and pupils who helped it to run so smoothly on the day. Next year we are hoping to run the Fair across two or three days, easing pressure on the timetable and allowing pupils more time in which to browse.

Mrs Hunt, Librarian