Cultivating Lifelong Readers - Our Commitment to the National Year of Reading 2026
By Julie Noble-Watts, Librarian Archivist & Learning Resources Manager.
As the UK celebrates the National Year of Reading 2026, Sherborne Girls stands out with its vibrant culture of fostering a lifelong love for reading. At the heart of this endeavour is our school library, a welcoming, expansive space at the top of the main school building, offering an impressive collection from fiction and graphic novels to manga and academic texts. This inspiring environment, coupled with enthusiastic staff and innovative initiatives, ensures that reading is not just an academic pursuit but a cherished leisure activity.
Sherborne Girls actively encourages extensive reading through constantly updated displays, an accessible online catalogue, diverse reading lists, and “books of the week” shared on the library’s Instagram, which recently featured a “take over” by the Library Prefect, creating engaging book quote videos. The School's commitment to literature extends to prestigious author visits, providing pupils with invaluable insights into the writing process and the viability of a literary career. Guests have included acclaimed children’s author Patrice Lawrence MBE, manga artist Chie Kutsuwada, and authors Joseph Elliott and Luke Palmer. Beyond author events, the library hosts a variety of engaging activities throughout the year, such as murder mystery evenings for younger students and World Book Day celebrations.
A key factor in Sherborne Girls' successful reading culture is the visible passion for books among staff. The reading charity Booktrust highlights that children are 40% more likely to enjoy reading if their parents or carers do. As a full-boarding school, it’s imperative that pupils see staff actively engaged with, and interested in, reading. This is achieved through posters on classroom doors and in boarding houses showcasing current reads, "Book Bingo" posters encouraging diverse reading, and a "caught reading" display in the library entrance featuring pupil photos and book reviews. For World Book Day, the school has solicited photos of individuals reading in their favourite places, building on past initiatives like "shelfies" and "bookface." A “Love Reading” board for Valentine’s Day further reinforced the idea that, as many girls and staff expressed, reading provides an escape into different worlds.
The leadership at Sherborne Girls, particularly Dr. Sullivan and the Senior Leadership Team, are strong advocates for reading, frequently mentioning it in assemblies, sharing their own reads at staff meetings, and actively participating in library events. This top-down support reinforces the value placed on reading for pleasure.
The staff at Sherborne Girls frequently share their personal journeys with reading, inspiring students with their own experiences. Mrs. Briggs, Senior Deputy Head, exemplifies this, recalling her childhood immersion in tales, stating, “My childhood was an immersive experience in worlds that were far different from my bedroom overlooking the Wiltshire countryside; for the adventures in my books were always so much more exciting than mundane, everyday life.” She fondly remembers C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe as a book that captivated her at age seven, with its tale of Narnia ruled by the White Witch, a concept that “absolutely horrified me as a child.”
Mrs. Hinks, Admissions Registrar, despite her preference for audiobooks, was recently inspired by Breadsong, a true story about a teenager who found purpose through baking, highlighting reading’s ability to spark unexpected passions. Mrs Scott, Director of Drama remembering her own "bookworm" youth, credits Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree for providing an escape to different lands, a book that, revisiting with her children, she realised was “full of lessons about the power of our imagination, the importance of friendship and loyalty, the wonders of nature, the value of kindness and compassion and how important it is to be brave.” Dr Sullivan shares a cherished memory of her father reading Arabel’s Raven, a book that “revealed the endless opportunities of adventure and discovery, friendship, compassion and fun that books could offer and from that point on, I was hooked.” Mr Blackmore, English Teacher found his love for reading through Michael Morpurgo’s Why the Whales Came, a story set in the Isles of Scilly, which taught him “that reading could teach us so much about other people: their hopes, their fears – their struggles, and their strengths.”
Research from the Open University underscores that reading for pleasure enhances literacy attainment, broadens general knowledge and vocabulary, and significantly boosts psychological wellbeing and empathy. Sherborne Girls understands that reading is far more than just consuming stories; it is about providing girls with a “lifelong gift to take with them, wherever they go.” As the National Year of Reading 2026 unfolds, Sherborne Girls continues to champion this vital activity, ensuring its students develop a deep and enduring love for the written word.
Where Next?
