Hello! My name is Mrs Morpeth, and I am the School Librarian.

We are very lucky at Malcolm Sargent Primary School to have a lovely library filled with thousands of engaging and diverse books for our children to read. It is my job to maintain that library and inspire a love of books and reading throughout the whole school. I am passionate about nurturing this love of reading and hope to inspire all children to be lifelong readers. I have taken it upon myself to read many of the children’s books myself so that I can confidently recommend the right book and engage the children in conversation over it. It is an immensely rewarding role especially when seeing a child’s face light up when talking about a book or sitting so still whilst listening to a story. 

Our shelves are stocked with over 10,000 books which are continually updated with the latest releases. We hold two book fairs each year which enable us to raise money to buy new books and we also enlist the help of the House Council to raise money too.    

Below is a list of activities in which the school engages, relating to reading.

World Book Day

World Book Day is always a highlight of our year with many fun book-related activities taking place, including dressing up as a character from a book which teachers and children alike take part in enthusiastically! We also hold a ‘Decorate a Door’ competition which is judged by the House Council. The children all receive a £1 book token too.

Reading Scrapbooks

We put on reading challenges throughout the school and currently each class has a reading scrapbook in which they can create a page to showcase their favourite book. The best entries win a new book!

Story Time

The children in the lower school visit the library every week for story time and can borrow library books to take home and share with their family.

The children from Y2 onwards, who have progressed to our Accelerated Reader scheme, visit the library whenever they need to scan books in and out using our Micro Librarian computer system. We ensure that the children are reading suitable books which are engaging, challenging and within their reading range.

Recommended Reading

We have produced recommended reading lists for all year groups and encourage our children to read as many of them as possible through the year. We also have book suggestions for the different genres in the library to help them choose their next book.

The recommended reading lists are available as printed versions in our library and on our website too at the link here.

Adoption Box

After our library books are removed from general circulation, we put them in our adoption box which is located outside the front office door. These are available for anyone to adopt and take away. We are also very happy to accept donated books from parents and include them in our library.

Book Club

We have a monthly book club for our highest achieving children in Y3-6 when we discuss books over a squash and a biscuit or two! These children help to inspire others to catch the reading bug too. Children who require a little extra help are offered 1:1 consultations with me to help them access and engage in their reading. 

Open Library

We open up the library every day after school between 1500 and 1530 for children to come and change their books with their parent(s).  I am available at these times on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays to help choose books or discuss any concerns.

Book Fairs

Twice each year, we host a book fair after school which is open to all parents and children. Books are available at discounted prices and even better, the school earns commission on every book bought so we use that commission to buy even more books for our library!