Head of English, Mrs Parker, led the first assembly back after half-term, and started the morning with a question to the boys; ‘What was your best half-term reading moment?’ Mrs Parker started the responses after completing her new year challenge of reading 70 books in 2025 this Autumn half-term. Well done Mrs Parker! We had one boy read Pinocchio while on holiday in Venice, Harry Potter fans, The Midnight Gang by David Walliams and Roald Dahl too!
Mrs Parker then surprised the boys with a very famous author that she met at the Cheltenham Literature Festival over the break. After a few rather close guesses, one boy recognised that it was Michael Morpurgo who kindly donated a signed copy of his own favourite book of his, War Horse, which now has a new home in our school library. Morpurgo’s personal story is hugely inspiring and he relayed the key message of how important reading and storytelling is for young people!
The following books are some that Mrs Parker bought from the festival to add to our library which she recommends for anyone who is looking to start a fresh new adventure through literature!
The Cave Downwind of the Cafe by Michael Please
Beastie Bros by David O’Connell
At West House, we have an incredible team of Librarians and Reading Ambassadors who promote the love of reading across the whole school. The following books are ones which our Reading Ambassadors have recommended to the boys this half-term:
Mika R recommends: Sherlock Bones by Tim Collins
Tamu M recommends: Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell
Rizwaan K recommends: The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
Sebastian E recommends: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
A fun assembly talking about the importance of reading concluded with announcing our winning readers and writers in the first half of the Autumn Term. The boys are selected by their English teachers from Reception up to Year 6 for either consistent engagement with a variety of texts or demonstrating impressive skills in their written work. These awards are hugely important and we are super proud of all the boys for doing so well within their English lessons, and outside of them! We love our English here at West House School!
