Manchester school celebrates World Book Day

There was a cascade of bright colours and excitement at Saint Paul's Catholic High School in Wythenshawe as staff and pupils took part in the biggest celebration of books and reading in the world when they participated in World Book Day.

With the aim of inspiring and developing their pupils' interest in reading, the school organised a full week of reading related activities including a competitions and quizzes each morning in form time, a 'Book Characters Quiz', 'Guess how many books there are in the Library' competition and a 'Match the Literary Pairs'. The Drop and Read time which had previously been enjoyed by all those involved was repeated. The whole school had to stop what they were doing so in PE, Science, Art, Reception, the office staff, dining room, everywhere, the whole school stopped and read for 30 minutes.

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. A main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading.

There was much excitement in school as children and staff dressed up as their favourite book characters in celebration of World Book Day 2015. There was a very wide range of characters in school, from the Hunger Games Katniss Everdeen to Mr Fox to Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit! It was a fantastic celebration of the magic of books.

"Reading should be viewed as a real pleasure and World Book Day, which was celebrated by the whole school, is a great way for us to encourage our pupils to read and enjoy more books. The children have had a wonderful time doing a wide range of book related activities." explained Ms Irena Savova from Saint Paul's. "It was great fun, many people dressed up as a character from a book, including the teachers. We learned about many books that we had not heard of before which has inspired us to read many new things! It was a fantastic day and a real celebration of books and reading."

Ms Savova added: "Research shows that teenagers who pick up a book for pleasure are more likely to succeed in life. The aim of World Book Day is to inspire people to read, it is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and the pupils enjoy participating in the event. The pupils become engrossed in the various competitions and activities and we know from past experience that the events will encourage them to further develop their love of reading."

"Reading is vital to young people's development; it develops the mind and imagination and allows the reader to discover new things," commented Miss Tina Wilkinson, Deputy Headteacher at Saint Paul's. "Reading should be viewed as a real pleasure and we see World Book Day as a great way for us to encourage our pupils to read and enjoy more books."