Last week, school was alive with the magic of storytelling, poetry, and bookish excitement as we celebrated Lit Fest 2025!
From competitions to inspiring author visits, students across all year groups immersed themselves in the joy of reading and creativity.
Throughout the week, students took part in a variety of literary activities, as well as enjoying lessons that incorporated reading-related activities, reinforcing the importance of books across the curriculum:
-
- Fairy Tale Trail – Clues were given during PLG time each morning, culminating in Friday’s final
- Literary Characters Competition – Students cracked riddles to uncover famous book characters
- Golden Tickets – Readers kept their eyes peeled for the tickets to exchange for a free book
- VIP Readers – Students sought out staff with special lanyards to chat about their favourite books, collecting signatures for a chance to win prizes
- Wellbeing and Reading – A special Friday focus highlighting the connection between literature and mental health
Tuesday brought an exciting visit from author Josh Silver, acclaimed author of Happy Head, Amazon’s Best YA Book of the Year 2023 and a 2024 Carnegie Medal for Writing nominee, who captivated Year 9 and 10 students with his journey into writing and the importance of representation in books. In engaging workshops, students delved into storytelling, exploring dystopian themes and the basis for forming a story and plot.
Josh also met with our Student Leadership Team for an insightful discussion on mental health and supporting peers. Together, they created posters featuring powerful messages such as “We listen and we don’t judge” and “Spill the tea.” His inspiring message? “Creativity cannot be graded.”
On Wednesday, we were thrilled to welcome local poet David Viney. His powerful performance left a lasting impact on our Year 7 and 8 students, reminding them that “words and opinions have power.” In smaller workshops, students explored poetry as a means of self-expression with David’s guidance and advice.
David also spent time with our Poetry Club, where students debated everything from writing techniques to the best chocolate biscuit! His visit highlighted how poetry fosters creativity, connection, and confidence.
The week ended with the exciting Fairy Tale Trail finale. The queue was out of the door as many students were able to work out the final location and get their hands on a prize.
Later that day, as a special treat, Year 7 students enjoyed a screening of Inside Out 2, tying into Children’s Mental Health Week. This experience will help them reflect through creative writing for another exciting competition.
We also had the privilege of hosting our Primary School Reader Award Evening, celebrating the young literary stars in our local community.
A huge thank you to everyone, students, staff, authors, and poets, who made Lit Fest 2025 such a fantastic celebration of literature. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!
