World Book Day was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. The first World Book Day in the UK and Ireland took place in 1997 to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading. World Book Day is on 7th March this year and at Highgate Wood School we have events planned to involve the whole school:

Visiting author Patrice Lawrence
Author Patrice Lawrence will be in school for 3 days from 5-7 March. Each Year 7 class will visit the LRC for a workshop, and she will also be available for any aspiring writers from other years to consult during her lunchtime writers’ surgeries.

Patrice was awarded an MBE for literature in 2021 and was on this year’s Carnegie Medal shortlist with Needle. One of her books (Eight Pieces of Silva) was on our own school book award shortlist 2 years ago, and another was on the Alexandra Palace Children’s Book Award shortlist last year. She’s won the YA Book Prize, the Crimefest YA Prize, the Woman and Home Bookclub Teen Drama Award, the Jhalak Prize for Children and Young People and the Waterstones Prize for Older Children’s Fiction.

World Book Day door decorating competition
All tutor groups have been invited to create a book-themed door to celebrate World Book Day. This was a huge success last year, spreading some visible book love around the school and celebrating our students’ favourite books. This year the best door will be chosen by our visiting author, Patrice Lawrence.

HWS Book Award
Voting for our HWS Book Award will close on 1st March and our winning book will be announced during the week of World Book Day. You can find information about this year’s shortlisted books here: https://highgatewoodlrc.wordpress.com/2023/10/30/hws-book-award-shortlist-5/

National Literacy Trust Reading Champions Quiz
Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 have been competing to gain places on our teams for the regional heat of the National Literacy Trust’s Reading Champions Quiz. Our teams will compete against other local schools on the Tuesday following World Book Day.