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Posted on October 13th 2017
Students Celebrate Reading for Pleasure
On Tuesday 10 October, the academy welcomed Paul Register, founder of the Excelsior Award for graphic novels, to share his love of reading which is rooted in comics and the power of their story-telling and artwork.
He met with students from our new and very popular Manga club during DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Time, showed some of his favourite books and had deep discussions with our own experts here.
Paul then explained what Reading For Pleasure really means in two sessions to the whole of Year 7 and Year 8. It’s all about losing yourself in great writing that triggers your imagination, increases your vocabulary and makes you wonder and ask questions. Non-fiction can do this, fiction can do this and graphic novels especially can do this: “There is no need to be embarrassed about choosing a comic as your way in to reading!” said Paul. Plot complexity, suggestion, character development, philosophy, politics – it’s all there. And the secret to finding the right book is to choose what appeals to you."
One of our Year 7 classes also had a workshop with Paul in the library in which the students explored the design and impact of comic book covers and created some of their own. Daniel shared his detailed knowledge of superheroes with the class and Diako and Harley showed real skill in creating powerful logo lettering.
Manga Club takes place every Friday in the library from 3 till 4pm. The shortlist for the Excelsior Award 2018 is announced in December and we will be taking part in judging the books again.
Jo Mead, Learning Resources Manager