What a week it has been! Book Week (not just Book Day of course) has returned with a bang to FHS, and we are so pleased to see it come back. From workshops to face painting, talks and fancy-dress parades, staff and students have had a brilliant week. On Tuesday, we were treated to not one, but three exciting talks from renowned speakers.

First up was L D Lapinski delivering a talk to Year 7 students. Author of the ‘Strangeworlds Travel Agency’ trilogy, Lapinski captivated her eager audience as she discussed the power of stories and thinking creatively. There was also an opportunity to ask questions and several students took up this challenge and inquired about becoming a published writer and how to get started on novel openings. Happily, Year 7 went away with a copy of the ‘Strangeworlds Travel Agency’ and have already been spotted getting started on reading this exciting tale.

Secondly, Year 8 and Year 9 students were treated to a talk from the multi award winning writer Patrice Lawrence. Lawrence discussed her interesting journey into writing and her novel ‘Splinters for Sunshine’, which all students received a copy of to take home and enjoy. Again, many students also asked questions at the end of the talk, proving themselves to be excellent listeners.

Also on Tuesday, students in Year 10 took part in an exciting Shakespeare workshop by Michael Oakley. A theatre director, writer and speaker, Michael delivered a dramatic workshop about Shakespeare’s language. Students were encouraged to kick off their shoes and get stamping to the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Particularly relevant considering their current study of ‘Twelfth Night’ in English, Year 10 eagerly began applying their new knowledge in their next English lesson.

Not to be left out, students in Years 11 and 12 had a fascinating talk by the author Thomas McMullan on Wednesday. His lecture on ‘Why Writing Matters Now’ included many cross-curricular links for historians, lovers of art and, of course, literature. Our FHS students were clearly energised, with many of them asking intriguing questions. Our budding writers were shown the path to getting published, and some even benefited from one-to-one advice about where to take their burgeoning creativity. This was a particularly academic and intellectually stimulating Book Week activity.

Thank you to Ms Ivison, Mr Ellen, and Mr Fernandes for organising these fantastic talks.

Finally, on Thursday, we had the day itself, World Book Day! Every student, from reception to UVI, had the opportunity to dress as a book character. There were some amazing costumes on show, from Miss Lorimer’s terrifying Ms Trunchbull to Tess Mayes’s (LVI) white rabbit, the English department were truly impressed by the effort displayed. Important monies raised from this dress-up day will go towards the Red Cross Urgent Ukraine Appeal – thank you to Mr Galloway for organising this collection. The English prefects were also busy on the day as they had organised some wonderful activities in the playground. A Harry Potter quiz, guess the pages in the book competition and face painting all went down a storm and helped to make the day even more special. Thank you to Carolina Julius, Isabella O’Neill and Mia Hensher-Goodlad for creating these wonderful treats. In English lessons, girls were treated to a ‘World Book Day’ quiz and lots of stars have been awarded for excellent knowledge of Literature. Furthermore, throughout this week, one student from each year group has also been recommending their ‘Book of the Day’ on the FHS Instagram page. From Year 7 we had Nerine Bentinck, Year 8 Thea McCourt, Year 9 Alice Langellier, Year 10 Linnea Foelstler and Year 11 Honor Jones. Thank you to these wonderful students for sharing their treasured texts.

We eagerly look forward to the next World Book Day!

Mrs Buchanan, English Second in Department