NHEHS Book Week 2025 – Celebrating Female Friendships in Literature
The theme of this year’s Book Week was ‘celebrating female friendships in literature’ as we also celebrated the 250th birthday of Jane Austen with a variety of activities designed to inspire a love for reading, writing, and literature. From thought-provoking workshops to fun competitions, every day was filled with something special!
Monday: Whole School Assembly and Author Workshop
Book Week kicked off with a whole school assembly on female friendships in literature, led by novelist Helen Comerford. Helen shared what motivated her to write, citing how she did not see herself represented in literature and that she did not view the world as fair as it could be. She read from one of her novels, The Love Interest, and spoke of the importance of keeping a network of friendships throughout life and how friendships should be celebrated. Helen also highlighted some of her favourite examples of brilliant female friendships in novels including City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Geek Girl by Holly Smale and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Following the assembly, Year 8 students had the opportunity to attend a writing workshop with the author, where they honed their creative writing skills.
Tuesday: Book Week Quiz
The excitement continued on Tuesday with the Book Week Quiz during form time, where students competed to test their literary knowledge.
Wednesday: A Day of Fun and Friendly Competition
Wednesday was an action-packed day including the Poetry by Heart Recital competition for Years 7-9 where students performed poems learned by heart in front of their peers and teachers. The Book Week Quiz continued for students in Year 11-13, while another highlight was an Austen-themed Spelling Bee, hosted by Mr Rodgers-Endersby. The day concluded with a thrilling Quidditch Match after school, where the Muggle Sixth Formers trounced the Muggle Staff team!
Thursday: World Book Day and Debate
Thursday was World Book Day and we got to meet characters from all genres of literature, from the Bennet sisters, to the House of Bernarda Alba, the Little Misses books to Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked and more as most of the school and teachers came dressed as their favourite book character. Donations were brought in for the charity Book Aid International.
As part of their academic enrichment, our Year 12 and 13 English Literature students were treated to a wonderful seminar on Jane Austen led by renowned scholar and Professor of English Literature at UCL, John Mullan. Afterwards students participated in a lively Lit and Lang Club debate, where they passionately argued the merits of Jane Austen versus the Brontë sisters.
Friday: Regency Dance Lesson
The week came to a close on Friday with a fun Regency Dance lesson for the Sixth Form, hosted by Ms. Lindsay. This gave the Sixth Form some much needed dance moves ready for Freshers Week and beyond. Most importantly it allowed them to let their hair down and have fun!
Throughout the week, everyone also participated in the school’s “Stop, Drop, and Read” initiative, where at the sound of the bell, everyone, including teachers, took 15 minutes to read. Whilst the initiative was met with scepticism by some pupils at first, many reported that they loved having the gift of time to read; many emailed Mrs Eastwood to say that they had finally got ‘back into reading’. A special KS3 display in the atrium showcased the students’ brilliant creativity with posters, sculptures, bakes, games and more created by pupils in Years 7 to 9.
Huge thanks to our English Department and all those involved in organising such a varied and packed week celebrating female friendships in literature !
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