At Bluecoat Wollaton Academy, we believe that literacy is the key to improving learning and raising standards. As such, our Library at Bluecoat Wollaton is an amazing resource for students, packed full with an array of brilliant fiction and non-fiction books. Competitions and extra-curricular clubs such as a KS3 Book Club help our students to feel confident and comfortable in this brilliant space.
Opening Times
The library is open every day during break and lunch time for students in all year groups. It is also open before school 08:00-08:30 and after school 15:00-16:00 (15:00-15:30 on a Friday).
Our online library catalogue can also be accessed from home through Reading Cloud by clicking the link here. Students can use the online catalogue to browse for books by author, title or keyword as well as make book reservations and write reviews.
Resources and Facilities
Students and staff are automatically members of the library. Books can be borrowed for two weeks and can be renewed at any time at the library desk or via email.
Resources include over 10,000 of the latest fiction and non-fiction books, computers, iPads and reference materials. We also have award winning newspaper “First News” for children with accurate, up-to-date, impartial news to read in the Library alongside monthly magazine subscriptions that include National Geographic, Science and History magazines.
Study space is available for individual and group work, along with computer and printing access to enable students to carry out research or complete their homework. For GCSE students we have a large collection of the latest course textbooks and revision guides.
Colourful, stimulating and continuously changing displays advertise library resources, clubs, events and information, whilst news and updates are shared through student emails and parent/carer correspondence.
Clubs and Activities
Every year we celebrate World Book Day across the school with a variety of reading related activities such as quizzes, sponsored reads, guerrilla readers and costume competitions.
Bookbuzz is a reading programme run by BookTrust and supported by children’s book publishers. We take part in this every year with our Year 7 students in the Autumn term as part of their induction to the Library. The aim of Bookbuzz is to inspire a love of reading in our students through engagement with varied and high-quality books – they are able to choose a book which they can then keep.
Archway Learning Trust Book of the Year Award
This year, in collaboration with other schools across the Trust, the library is introducing the Archway Learning Trust Book of the Year Award. Students in Years 7 and 8 will have the opportunity to read books from a predetermined shortlist and then vote on their favourite to determine the winner. The shortlist has been carefully selected by the Trust’s librarians to showcase new diverse, inspiring and entertaining reads that cover a range of reading abilities to both challenge students and ignite a love for reading.
Library Lessons
Our year 7 and 8 cohort have a Library lesson each week as one of their English lessons. During this hour, students are guided towards books that interest them; leading on to activities which further develop their individual reading age. These activities could consist of retention testing, spelling tests and vocabulary tests that are completed at the beginning or end of either these lessons or an English lesson.
All teachers are aware of students’ current reading levels and can use this information to guide students towards progress. Teachers are able to use this information and data to either lead whole class readers or smaller more personalised groups where students read aloud to the teacher.
Literacy at Bluecoat Wollaton Academy
Building Better Readers – Parents’ Guide
How To Support Literacy At Home
Access books and activities shared by famous authors from home at the Virtual Library: https://library.thenational.academy
Useful Links:
Here are some links to some fabulous book related websites as well as the local library service:
