Celebrating The Queen’s Library’s 12th anniversary with some young friends
The Queen’s Library has long had a key role in the School’s outreach programme to Barnet primary schools – so who better to help it mark its 12th birthday than some local Year 5 boys and girls and a group of enthusiastic readers from QE?
A team of Year 7s were on hand to support the visitors from Barnet’s Underhill and Whitings Hill primary schools, backed by a trio of sixth-formers.
Head of Library Services Jenni Blackford, who organised the day, said: “We are lucky to have a well-stocked library as well as students who want to share their love of reading and the resources we have available. It was only fitting that on our 12th anniversary, we opened our doors to the community – especially young children who are reluctant readers – to help them learn about libraries, books and reading in a fun way.
“Many of our own pupils here develop a passion for English and for reading, and The Queen’s Library provides the perfect place for them to share that passion with pride.”
The Queen’s Library is a well-resourced facility in the heart of the School, which is widely used for academic scholarship, as well as reading for pleasure. It is staffed by a small team of proactive and engaged librarians.
The visiting Year 5 pupils came spent a day working alongside the Year 7 and Year 12 pupils to develop their literacy and oracy skills in an engaging environment.
“Encouraged by our friendly Year 7s, the visiting pupils took part in a quiz and designed their own book cover,” said Mrs Blackford. “Year 12 students then took over to deliver an engaging creative writing workshop that incorporated word games, sensory description and…a disappearing classroom!
“Community events like this provide fantastic opportunities for inter-generational collaboration, a safe space for children to learn, and allow our boys to share their passion to inspire younger learners.”
Among those who exhibit that passion is Year 7’s Sai Vinesh Sriskandarajah. He said: “I like helping with young children… and have enjoyed seeing lots of smiling faces. I think they have learned an abundance of skills, including teamwork, collaboration and resilience.”
Year 12’s Suren Fereydoni shared similar sentiments: “I think Literacy and being able to write creatively are some of the most important skills to have as both a child and an adult. So, in me being able to help children discover how to do both is exciting and feels nice to help out.”
Together with Sai Vinesh and Suren, the other QE pupils involved were:
- Year 7: Vihaan Sinha, Vihaan Chitaley, Giritrah Ghosh, Aryan Narsian, Hari Chikani, Bradley Leung and Geethik Satti.
- Year 12: Rian Doshi and Akira Norimura.