World Book Day always allows Harrodians to indulge in a few enduring and ever present Harrodian passions - reading books, dressing up and drama!
As usual, this year everyone from Pre-Prep up to the 11s – as well as staff – took the opportunity to come to school dressed as their favourite book characters. See who you can spot among the characters featured in this article and in our gallery.
Among characters we spotted were: Gangsta Granny, Matilda, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Wizard of Oz, Three Little Pigs, Alice in Wonderland, various Dr Seuss characters, The Hungry Caterpillar and assorted Little Women. Not to mention some rather spooky kooky characters from The Addams Family, and many more besides.
To view a gallery of our Pre- Prep WBD costumes and other activities
World Book Day in Pre-Prep was part of a week of reading activities. Pupils enjoyed a visit from an author, special story sessions led by Mr Hooke and other guest members of staff, and visits from parents who joined form rooms to read with the children. After a couple of years of the Pre-Prep WBD assembly being presided over by the dastardly duo of Captain Hooke and Miss Trunchbull, this year the children were greeted by a different pair of literary mischief-makers. Burglar Bill and Burglar Betty, from the much-loved story by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, were played by Headteacher Mr Hooke and Head of Pre-Prep Mrs Walker. The pair wandered through the Theatre spotting items they had planted earlier and inviting the children to join in with the story’s well-known refrain, “I’ll have that!”
To view a gallery of our Prep pupils dressed up
Along similar lines, Head of PSHE Mr Guy Holder, never one to miss an opportunity to advance his well-known campaign to prise mobile phones out of young hands, also took inspiration from the Burglar Bill theme. Thinking quickly on his feet, and with help from Head of Media Studies Mr Sam Cullis, he produced a short film in which he appears in character as Burglar Bill, sneakily confiscating mobile phones from unsuspecting pupils. The tongue-in-cheek video playfully highlights the concern that reading is increasingly being eclipsed by time spent on phones. (For the avoidance of doubt, pupils are not permitted to use mobile phones freely on site, and the film is intended simply to illustrate the point as the school continues to consider how best to implement the Government’s guidance on mobile phone use in schools.) Please see the short film below:
Across the rest of the school, pupils and staff also took part in spontaneous Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) sessions during the day, giving classes the chance to pause lessons and spend time reading together.
Lower Prep pupils also contributed their own creative work through a series of book-themed craft projects, completed at home and brought into school for display. Pupils in the 8s designed and created a shoebox room for a favourite book character, showing both the character and the setting of the story. The 9s created collections of clues to help others guess which book they had chosen, while the 10s designed and built miniature sets inspired by books they had enjoyed reading.
To view a gallery of our Sixth Formers with their reading buddies
Our Sixth Form pupils also played their part in the celebrations, spending time reading with their younger reading buddies. Many of the younger pupils were still in costume, which made for some particularly colourful reading sessions.
To view a gallery of our Staff dressed up
Other events and activities included generous donations of books to the Children’s Book Project, organised by our librarians to help provide books for disadvantaged children and schools across the UK.
Many thanks to the English department and our librarians, who worked together to organise the programme of activities that helped make World Book Day such an enjoyable celebration of reading across the school.
