Our School library would like to wish the students taking exams this term all the very best as they go on their study leave. Our library space is open for everyone to use until 3.35pm daily.
This month we have new books aplenty which are being rolled out onto our library shelves as you read! Please check out the Libresoft homepage and visit our ‘New Books shelf.’ One special highlight to our library collection is the entire series of the “The Seven Sisters” by Lucinda Riley (KS5), which has been kindly donated to us.
Don’t forget to enter our Design a Comic Strip Competition over the half term break. We have some really great prizes to give away for this creative library competition. The deadline for entries is after half term 1st June 2026.
World Ocean Day
8th June 2026
World Ocean Day is a time to raise awareness of ocean waters globally and the importance our oceans hold in regulating the climate, supporting biodiversity, sustaining livelihoods and future science work. World Ocean Day encourages everyone to get involved to help protect our oceans and keep them healthy. It works with a range of organisations and youth leaders in around 200 countries. This Year’s Theme is Exploring Blue Careers, to help young people see how many different types of ocean-focused jobs exist.
To learn more about World Ocean Day and to view their “Youth Guide to the Ocean” and other resources visit: worldoceanday.org/materials-for-kids/.
Don’t forget to check out some of the books we have on saving our Oceans: Blue Machine by Helen Czerski (551.46); A Very Short Introduction: Oceans by Dorrik Stow (551.46) ; Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin; The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. Sora has some amazing book collections on the Ocean and marine life.
They have also released their first annual World Ocean Day Poster Competition for all to enter.
Deadline 31st May 2026. For details on how to enter visit: www.worldoceanday.org/poster
Remember to keep safe online. Always ask your parent/guardian or a member of staff if you are unsure.
Books Making the Stage
We have been seeing lots of famous books which have taken on another dimension by being adapted for West End Theatres and around the country. But how do the producers of these shows take a 400-page book and make it into a show? Well, the process involves many people coming together to plan the production, including finding financing and actors to put on the show.
Before any creative work begins, producers must acquire dramatization rights from the author or their publisher/agent. Producers often “option” the book, which means paying a fee for exclusive rights to develop a script within a timeframe.
Condensing a story for the stage is about capturing the core elements of the book in a way that translates powerfully to a live audience. Playwrights/Scriptwriters are hired to adapt the text into a 2.5 hour show. While this may seem like an impossible task, working with a creative team allows subplots and characters, from the original book, to be thoughtfully cut or combined to suit the limitations of the stage. However, a stage production does have many benefits as it is telling a visual story, so some dialogues from the book maybe shown as a physical action or special effects which are used to capture it’s essence. Take for instance “War Horse,” where puppets are used to deliver theatrical impact. Another consideration is whether the book should be portrayed as a play or musical. Certainly, it can take years for producers to collaborate with many professionals all coming together to deliver a show stopping performance to a live audience.
Why not take time to read a book that hasrecently been adapted for stage. All of the following books are available in our school library: Horrible Histories Barmy British Empire by Terry Deary; Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson; War Horse by Michael Morpurgo; The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer; Deathnote by Tsugumi Ōba and Takeshi Obata; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
These books are available on Sora: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesy; Les Misérables by Victor Hugo; Dogman by Dav Pilkey; Stranger Things by Gwenda Bond.
Empathy Day
11th June 2026
Empathy Day Festival starts on 4th June and finishes on Empathy Day – 11th June 2026. Our school library will be celebrating the week-long festival by sharing the Read for Empathy book collection. This year’s theme is “Jump into someone else’s story.”
Empathy Day celebrates the joy of reading, and this year it is encouraging us to step into the shoes of different book characters. In doing so it will help to increase your empathy awareness, explore emotion and perspective in others, which will stretch our imagination beyond the pages of a book.
We will be showing the live author event for secondary schools, on our big library screen, hosted by Matt Goodfellow and Manjeet Mann (KS3/4) on Thursday 11th June, during lunch break.
The Seven Sisters Series Masterpiece
Our School library has been lucky enough to be gifted the entire collection of “The Seven Sisters” series by Lucinda Riley. We are recommending these books for KS5 students. Judging by the reviews and recommendations the books have received, they are guaranteed to be non-stop reads for lovers of historical fiction, romance, and contemporary fiction.
The Seven Sisters is the first novel in the series of eight books and is inspired by the mythology of the Pleiades constellation (also known as the Seven Sisters constellation). In the first book in the series we are introduced to the first sister Maia, the eldest of the six adopted sisters by the billionaire ‘Pa Salt.’ When he dies suddenly, the bereaved sisters gather at their childhood home, a spectacular secluded castle in Lake Geneva. Each of them is handed a clue to their past and heritage. With each book ending on a cliff-hanger to the next book in the series. These books will lead you on a page turning journey around the world and across time.
The books in order are: The Seven Sisters; The Storm Sister; The Shadow Sister; The Pearl Sister; The Moon Sister; The Sun Sister; The Missing Sister; Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.
Logon to Sora and explore
Sora Sweet Reads 2026
We will be sharing the Sora Sweet Reads posters in our school library.
Logon to Sora today to find out more.
