Narnia comes to Fenham for World Book Day

English teachers at the school, a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, arrived for the day dressed as characters from the classic CS Lewis stories, which relate the adventures of four siblings who venture through a secret wardrobe door into a fantasy winter wonderland.

Meanwhile, students were invited to bring a book or character-themed accessory with them for the event, which featured a range of World Book Day-related activities across every year group.

A 500-word short story competition challenged budding writers to create a piece based on the topic of ‘Be Your Own Hero’, whether ‘Tragic Hero’, ‘Superhero’, ‘Anti-Hero’, or ‘Secret Hero’; while the last session of the day saw the whole school take part in ‘Drop Everything and Read’, where students from Years 7 to 12 simultaneously read copies of the Roald Dahl short story ‘Man from the South’.

“In 2024, the percentage of children and young people, who said they enjoyed reading was at its lowest since the National Literacy Trust survey began,” said Lucy Floyd, Second in English at the school.

“World Book Day is so important at Sacred Heart. We don’t see dressing up as flippant and self-indulgent; we see it as raising awareness of a social justice issue.

“Children from lower socio-economic backgrounds read less for enjoyment than those from more privileged backgrounds; it is our duty to promote a love of reading across all children.”

Fellow BBCET schools participating in World Book Day included St Aidan’s Catholic Primary in Ashington, St Catherine’s Catholic Primary in Sandyford, St John Vianney Catholic Primary in Denton, and St Robert’s Catholic First School in Morpeth.