Archway Library
The library is a lovely welcoming environment for students and is open at break and lunch times as well as during lesson time with subject classes. Students can sign up to volunteer as library ambassadors during the week. We have twenty laptops for students to use during break and lunchtime as well as during library lessons.
Students can browse fiction genres including humour, science fiction & fantasy, horror & ghosts, graphic novels, humour, romance/life and crime/adventure. Within these sections we have a range of dyslexia-friendly titles by specialist publisher Barrington Stoke. We love buying new up-to-date books and pride ourselves on our wide selection of titles, and encourage and welcome students' book recommendations and suggestions.
In Year 7 and 8, students’ reading is supported by the Accelerated Reader (AR) system. Books are colour coded with a sticker to enable students to easily select reading choices within this program.
The Library Portal is our brilliant online library where students can browse new titles and also reserve, renew and review books. There is lots to explore here, including podcasts, booklists, author interviews, book recommendations, book festivals and much more. A helpful How to use the library web app video can also be found here.
For sixth-formers we have Issues, a journal series produced specifically for schools examining contemporary topics. We also subscribe to Complete Issues, which provides reliable information, websites, graphs and statistics; ideal for research skills. The website links to both Issues and Complete Issues can be found on the sixth-form homepage of the Library Portal.
Reading for pleasure is hugely important to us in the Library and Librarian Mrs Locke is always excited to talk about YA books with students.
Year 10/11 Suggested Reading List
"I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity for my son to "Meet the Author", he absolutely loved the experience and couldn't stop talking about it when he got home."
"My son was thrilled and inspired to meet and hear from Matt Dickinson today, and was chuffed to be able to have a signed copy of his book too."
"I would just like to thank you for organising the "Meet the Author" event. My son really enjoyed it and felt inspired by the stories. He has also started to read the book he purchased which is a great achievement as he usually struggles to find enthusiasm for reading."
