Flintshire school celebrate reading on World Book Day

Staff and students at Argoed High School embraced World Book Day again this year, dressing up as favourite characters from a novel or wearing their own clothes. Voluntary contributions were invited, and a total of over £260 was raised for the library.

Harry Potter characters at Argoed High School on World Book Day.

The student support centre staff dressed up as characters from The Wizard of Oz, one form teacher dressed as Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with some of her class joining in as other characters from the book, and there were many more infamous characters, including Harry Potter.

Read more: Another chapter in the region's World Book Day celebrations

Sue Gonzalez, library assistant, coordinated the day which involved all students and began with teachers playing a podcast by Dr Michael Mosley during registration. By reading a novel for just half an hour a day, Dr Mosley explains how this can boost your brain activity, increase new neuro pathways, protect against dementia and, surprisingly, help you live almost two years longer.

Argoed High School staff dressed up on World Book Day.

Before each lesson of the day, teachers read chapters of different books to their class for 10 to 15 minutes. Year 7 students listened to chapters from Middle School: How I Got Lost in London, Year 8 students enjoyed extracts from The Spooks' Tale, and for Year 9s it was chapters from Cold Keep.

Read more: Schools mark St David's Day in a blaze of colour

For the last quarter of an hour of the final lesson of the day, students from all year groups were treated to their teacher reading The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, a gentle story with wellbeing messages, to provide a relaxing end to the day.

World Book Day at Argoed High School.

This was accompanied by a virtual fireside; a video showing a glowing, crackling fire was played on a shared screen for each class. Teachers also spoke to students about a book they are reading and asked them about books they are enjoying to encourage more book talk amongst students.

Read more: Flintshire shops up for Independent Bookshop of the Year

Mrs Gonzalez organised a schedule for teachers so that they had everything to hand, including links to the books, the podcast, and the fireside video.

She said: "It has been a brilliant day, and everyone went to great lengths to make the day come to life with their costumes.

World Book Day at Argoed High School, with Wizard of Oz characters.

"World Book Day is a great opportunity to promote reading for pleasure and reinforce our culture as a 'Reading School.' Most importantly, celebrating World Book Day is fun for everyone!

"It is proven that developing a habit for reading and becoming an independent reader has many positive benefits, including developing empathy, enhancing brain activity, reducing stress and gaining higher results in maths and vocabulary tests at 16 years than those who read less.

"Reading aloud to children and teens also improves listening skills, provides positive modelling, sparks their imagination and introduces them to different genres. We are now looking forward to purchasing more books requested by students with the money raised."