The Library
WELCOME TO OUR LIBRARY
Welcome to the library. This is a space for pupils to gather quietly, read, play chess and complete homework.
- We have a fantastic selection of books, including many critically acclaimed and prize-winning novels.
- The librarian, Ms McCarthy, is eager to match the right book for each pupil, and is a keen supporter of the right to read for pleasure.
- All pupils are members of the library and can borrow books for a period of 10 days.
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Our library was opened by Newport-born poet Connor Allen, former children’s Laureate of Wales. The library has been named the Connor Allen Library in his honour. |
| 2026: THE NATIONAL YEAR OF READING - Diary Day 2026 | |
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WRITE A DIARY AND GIVE 2126 SOMETHING COOL TO DISCOVER |
May 12th is Diary DayIn 1937, Mass Observation called for people from all parts of the UK to record everything they did from when they woke up in the morning to when they went to sleep at night on 12th May. Mass Observation revived the project in 2010 and since then, they have received thousands of day diaries, creating an invaluable resource of everyday life across the UK. The project continues to this day. Want to take part? Please speak to the librarian.
Many books for children and teens are written in diary format; everyone knows Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Pupils can visit the library and choose from a selection of fiction and non-fiction diaries. Here are some examples of what we have in the library.
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| Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 – May 11th - 17th | |
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Everything changes when you read.Reading Well supports you to understand and manage your health and wellbeing using helpful reading.Reading Well books are all recommended by health experts, as well as by people with lived experience of the conditions and topics covered. You can be recommended a title by a health professional, or you can visit your local library and take a book out yourself. Here are some of the recommended books in our library.
Fiction Titles
Non-Fiction Titles
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library news
THE VERSE NOVEL CHALLENGE.
Congratulations WE WON!
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Huge congratulations to Y7 and 8 Pupils who took part in the Verse Novel Challenge. This was a challenge created by the National Literacy Trust to encourage children to read Verse Novels. Our book group pupils recorded a stirring reading from The Crossing by Manjeet Mann just before the Christmas holiday, and in February they received the excellent news that they had won a £500 Amazon voucher to be spent on books for the library. The group has been busy asking as many pupils as they can, across all year groups, which books they would like to order. The top category was MANGA! Books will start to arrive this month.
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How to encourage reading...
Reading for 20 minutes a day has many benefits for children and young adults, including reducing stress, improving educational outcomes in Maths and English, and helping develop empathy.
It doesn’t matter if it is comics, novels, non-fiction, menus or instruction manuals … this is ALL reading. Reading from a screen, listening to an audiobook and being read to, all have huge benefits for children. If you read with your children, ask them if they understand what the words mean, teach them how to look up words in a dictionary and put new words into context by putting them into a sentence. All of these little things will help with understand what is being read.
There are several places you can gain access to books, aside from visiting your own local library.
- If you are a member of your local library, BorrowBox is a free service offering e-books and AudioBooks which can be read or listened to on phones, tablets or other devices.
- If you would like to read the first chapters of a book, sign up to the LoveReading4Kids website where many of the books have downloadable extracts.
- If you like to read reviews, try the Booktrust website, where you can search for books by age, genre or theme.