Library

Our library is an integral part of The Willink school. We are passionate about its use as a whole school resource where everyone is welcome. Our key objectives are to:

Support teaching and learning in the school.
Promote literacy.
Encourage independent learning.
Inspire reading for pleasure.
Provide a welcoming and safe environment for the whole school community.

The library has 16 desktop computers and 32 chrome books used to promote independent study. We house over 6,000 physical resources and are committed to ensuring that these are up to date and relevant. Provision of a wide range of resources which are of interest to students is vital to developing life-long readers. Regular reading has been shown to promote well-being, impact academic achievement, enable students to connect with society and help them achieve their long-term goals.

Key Staff

Library Manager & Accelerated Reader Coordinator: Mrs R Davis (rdavis@willink.w-berks.sch.uk)

Library Assistants: Mrs S Griffiths & Mrs L Linardi

Student Library Helpers: 16 fantastic students (Year 8+) who are an integral part of the team. Duties include serving at the front desk, shelving, supporting students and helping with library events and activities.

Email: library@willink.w-berks.sch.uk

Opening Hours

Monday: 8:40 – 4:15pm
Tuesday – Thursday: 8:15 – 4:15pm
Friday: 10:30 – 2:30pm

All students can access the library before, during breaks, and after school for independent study, reading, and other library approved activities. Years 12 & 13 are also welcome to use the library during their independent learning lessons. The library study room is allocated to quiet study only. After school, we run ‘Homework for 30’ where library users are encouraged to complete their homework before other activities.

Key Stage 3 – Years 7, 8 & 9

Library lessons

All students in KS3 take part in the Renaissance Accelerated Reader [AR] programme.

“More pupils who use AR enjoy reading, read frequently and think more positively about reading than their peers who do not use AR. Children and young people who use AR are also more likely to see themselves as readers, are more likely to have a favourite book or story and are more likely to read more books outside class than their peers not using AR.” (Clark & Cunningham, 2016, p. 29)

Students have fortnightly library lessons with Mrs Davis and the English department. They engage in reading focused activities such as ‘book talks,’ ‘book tasting’, AR quizzes, Non-fiction tasks and silent reading.

During the Autumn Term, Year 7 take part in BookTrust’s Book Buzz reading programme. Each student is given the opportunity to choose a book from 16 titles - to keep forever. It is wonderful to see student excitement when they realise that they can choose their own book to keep. Giving young people choice over what they read is one of the fundamental parts of encouraging reading for pleasure.

Students can access Accelerated Reader here.

Book Clubs

Mrs Davis runs a weekly Book Club for years 7 & 8 plus a Yoto Carnegie Shadow Group for a small group of Year 9 students between March – June.

For further details about the latest Yoto Carnegie book award look at their website here.

Author Visits

In collaboration with the English department, Mrs Davis organises Author Visits to inspire a love of reading amongst students. Our most recent visit was from Chris Bradford, author of the famous Young Samurai, Bodyguard, and Soul series.

Paired Reading

The English department and library jointly run a Paired Reading programme where select students from years 7 – 9 read with a year 12 buddy during registration each week. This promotes a love of reading and leadership!

KS4 – Years 10 & 11

On an ad hoc basis teachers book classes into the library for reading lessons and opportunities to choose and swap books.

KS5 – Years 12 & 13

Mrs Davis also supports the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and delivers lessons on research skills, referencing, plagiarism, and copyright.

All Years

The library takes an active role in supporting the whole school initiative, Read to Achieve. Every student (Years 7-11) and teacher engages in silent reading for 15 minutes a day during the school day.

Library News

World Book Day events 2023
- Readathon - ran over a lunch time
- Second-hand book and cake sale
- Decorate the door competition - tutor groups decorated their classroom door with a book theme.
- Title Quest competition - Students looked out for staff wearing book titles on their lanyards. They had to collect as many book titles as they can to win a prize.

Library catalogue & recommended reading

Students and staff have access to our online library catalogue, Oliver, via RM Unify and here. We recommend that students use the online catalogue to browse and reserve books. To help students find books they will enjoy we have created many reading lists to guide them. A few examples of these can be found here:

Bibliography

Clark, C. & Cunningham, A. (2016). Reading Enjoyment, Behaviour and Attitudes in Pupils who use Accelerated Reader. Available here. (Accessed: 8 March 2023)
Clark, C & Teravainen-Goffhttps, A. (2018). Mental wellbeing, reading and writing. Available here: (Accessed: 8 March 2023)
GL Assessment. (2020). Why reading is key to GCSE success. Available at: https://reports.gl-assessment.co.uk/whyreading/ (Accessed: 8 March 2023)
The Reading Agency. (2023). Sources: Taylor, 2011; OECD, 2013. Reading facts. Available here: (Accessed: 8 March 2023)

Last Updated March 2023