Librarian: Miss Kay Tanner and Mrs Alison Curtis

Sixth Form Librarians are also available to help!

Opening Times: Monday - Thursday 8.15 - 4.30, Friday 8.15 - 4.00 (unless the library is being used by a class, in which case notice will be given).

Everyone is welcome in the school library. We try to provide a friendly and welcoming environment with a good variety of resources:

	Books (!):
	FICTION: We have a wide variety of fiction books, shelved in alphabetical order of the author's surname. A large number are changed periodically with the Schools Library Service.
	NON-FICTION: Books are shelved in subject order using the Dewey System. Year 7 and Year 12 are given an introduction into how to use this in the first few weeks of term.
	daily newspapers:
	we take The Telegraph, The Independent, and The Week for Key Stage 3 students.
	DVDs
	language audio tapes
	periodicals
	...and much more!

We are always pleased to hear your ideas about other things you'd like to be available in the library!

We also provide other services:

	photocopying (a card with 20 credits costs £2.00)
	laminating

Borrowing Books:
All students are issued with a library card which allows you to borrow up to four resources. They will usually be issued for two weeks, and may be renewed as long as no-one else is waiting for them. Fines are charged at 5p per day per overdue book, with a maximum fine of £2.00 per item - we send students reminders of overdue books! Any lost books will be charged for at replacement cost. All resources are catalogued on the search computer and can be found under author, title or keyword.

Network Computers:
These are available at all times - schoolwork must take precedence, and of course NO e-mailing/chat rooms etc as per school rules! We are always pleased to see students and staff in the library, and we are pleased to help you.

What else can the library do for you?
Our main aim is to support learning - both in class and independent learning of individual students – providing good quality resources but also delivering a program of research skills instruction to encourage effective use of resources across the curriculum.

However we also aim to provide a wide range of enriching activities, including:-

	the Red House Book Award scheme
	the Warwickshire Secondary Schools’ Book Award scheme
	shadowing the Carnegie Book Awards
	shadowing the Greenaway Illustrated Book Awards
	author visits
	illustrator visits
	joint activities with schools across Warwickshire
	Reading Week activities – includes book fairs, World Book Day and book quizzes
	charity events, such as Readathon and Balloon Races

Recommended Reads…

Key Stage 3 The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

A story of innocence existing within the most terrible evil, this is the fictional tale of two young boys caught up in events entirely beyond their control.

If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno (though this isn’t a book for nine-year olds!). Sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to cross such a fence.

A very moving and thought-provoking book for students and parents alike.

Key Stage 4 Candy by Kevin Brooks

It was the girl, of course. The girl from the station. The girl with the smile and the skin and the eyes… Jo is hooked the moment he sees Candy. What is it that catches his eye? Is it her hair, her smile, or just the way she’s standing? When they chat over coffee there’s an instant attraction, but can love ever be this sweet? As the bitter truth about Candy’s dangerous world emerges, Joe must decide if love and hope are worth fighting for.

A gripping, gritty read!

Key Stage 5 My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

If you use one of your children to save the life of another, are you being a good mother or a very bad one?

In my first memory, I am three years old, and I am trying to kill my sister. Sometimes, the recollection is so clear I can remember the itch of the pillowcase under my hand, the sharp point of her nose pressing into my palm…

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and injections to help her sister, Kate, fight leukaemia. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more.

But now she can’t help but wonder what her life would be like if it weren’t tied to her sister’s…and so she makes a decision that for most, at any age, would be too difficult to bear, and sues her parents for the rights to her own body.

This astounding novel is beautifully and thoughtfully written and focuses on difficult and moral choices. A truly moving and incredible read.

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