Harrogate students set to embrace World Book Day celebrations with week-long celebrations

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World Book Day, which is marked in more than 100 countries around the world, was created in April 1995 by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading.

In addition to individual classroom activities, a series of events will be taking place at Ashville College across its Prep School, Senior School and Sixth Form, starting with a sponsored readathon to raise funds for the charity, Read for Good.

On World Book Day itself this Thursday, March 3, pupils from Years 1 to 7 at the Harrogate independent school will come to school dressed as their favourite literary character.

Elspeth Fisher, Interim Head of Ashville Prep School, said: “The importance of reading from an early age cannot be stressed enough and is crucial to a child’s ongoing development.

“During our World Book Week, which encompasses World Book Day, we will help reinforce this message in an engaging and entertaining way. We don’t want our pupils to consider reading a chore, but to see it as an enjoyable experience, one that opens the mind to a whole new world, and lets their imagination run wild.

“Our World Book Week is something our pupils and teaching staff always look forward to, when we can once again fully immerse ourselves in the joy that reading brings to all ages. And here at Ashville Prep School, World Book Day is every day!”

Prep School highlights at Ashville College will include a book trail around classrooms and corridors, a design-a-bookmark competition, a book fair staged by Usborne Publishing, and on Wednesday, children’s author Emma Carroll leading an online assembly with Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.

The Senior School week activities start with an online workshop where pupils will take part in a carefully structured drama activity to get them thinking about some of their favourite literary characters.

A book fair will be held in the College’s Lancaster Library on Thursday and Friday. The celebrations will conclude with a ‘Masked Reading’ challenge for pupils in class.

Dr Pavneet Kaur, Ashville Librarian and Archivist, who has organised the Senior School activities, added: “It’s been proven that children who read for pleasure are more likely to be successful and happy throughout their lives, and World Book Day at Ashville promises to be an explosion of literary excitement.

“For the month-long readathon, pupils can choose whatever they want to read - from comics right through to classics. It’s all about reading for fun and that the children are motivated to read.

“All monies raised will go to Read for Good to help to provide a regular supply of brand new books and a resident storyteller to every major children’s hospital in the UK.”

For more information about Ashville College, please visit www.ashville.co.uk

or call 01423 566358.

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