King Edward VI School celebrates 'Banned Books' for World Book Week

At King Edward's we not only celebrate World Book Day, (this year it was on Thursday 7 March), we extend the celebrations to a whole week of all things books, reading and literary geniuses! We are very lucky to have a Library team who organise a whole host of activities and events for our students to enjoy during the KES World Book Week. 

The theme for this year's World Book Week was 'Banned Books'. Unfortunately, there are many titles which are banned across the globe for various reasons, preventing young people from reading them. Some schools and libraries ban children under the age of 18 to read books that are viewed as controversial or are deemed to be 'age inappropriate', however, here at King Edward's we carefully monitor the content of the books we offer in our library, but understand that young people should have the opportunities to learn about other's life experiences and have the freedom to read. During the week we heard from our student Library Leaders about some of their favourite 'banned books' and why they have been banned in some countries. You can find short video clips on our School social channels of our Library Leaders talking about this, they also explore some of King Edward's favourite reads such as 'Heartstopper', 'The Giver' and the 'Captain Underpants' book series which are banned in other countries.

"We believe as young people, we should have the freedom to choose what we read and to express our own opinions", Amanda (Sixth Form).

Photo: The Library was transformed into a 'Reading Cafe' where students could enjoy a good book while sipping hot chocolate at breaktime.

There was an extensive range of book-themed activities held across the week for all year groups, including:

• Reading Cafe: Students enjoyed a breaktime of independent reading and sipping hot chocolate served by our Library Leaders. It was lovely to see so many students losing themselves in a good story.
• Decorate Free Little Libraries: During Lunchtimes this week, students across the School had the chance to decorate Little Free Libraries for KES to donate to local Primary Schools.
• Book Swap Shop: Choose 2 books for every 1 you donate!
• Open Forum (Sixth Form): Ms Speck, Library Manager at King Edward's led this week's Open Forum, sharing how reading has helped her at various times in her life, Ms Speck invited students and staff to share which books have influenced them too.
• Banned Books 'Courtroom': An exclusive event for Library Leaders in Year 8 - Year 11! 
• Author Visit: Author Matt Killeen visited School on Friday to lead the Year 7 Extended Studies session. Matt spoke about his book 'Orphan Monster Spy' based in 1939 Germany which is based on a teenage spy. This was well placed to help mark 'World Book Week,' and 'International Women's' Day,' with the main protagonist in Matt Killeen's book being a young girl. 

Photo: We welcomed author Matt Killeen to School where he led our Year 7 Extended Studies Session, talking about his book 'Orphan Monster Spy'. 

"It is so important for us as a school to promote the wonderful benefits of reading for pleasure for both students and staff. Every year we organise a great variety of activities which encourages reading for pleasure and reminds students to visit our library, which is such a fantastic resource and we are lucky to have access to such a variety of books. Reading for pleasure is proven to increase job prospects, help young people to learn empathy as they walk in another’s shoes and aid with personal wellbeing. At King Edward’s we encourage 20 minutes reading per night before bedtime, putting down screens and relaxing in another world is so incredibly beneficial", Ms Speck, Library Manager at King Edward VI School.

With an engaging theme and a variety of activities, World Book Week 2024 at King Edward's was a great success and enjoyed by us all!