OUR MISSION:
To provide all of our students with access to an independent learning space, an area to access both physical and digital learning resources to support their educational journey – as well as offer an environment in which to relax and socialize, to play and engage the imagination. An area for our students and guided by the needs of the children we are here to serve.
OUR HISTORY:
Our new library space (the LRC) was part of the CORE Trust £4 million development for Rockwood Academy, which opened to students in September 2021 – with our new Library space opening for the first time at the beginning of October 2021, offering students access to a comprehensive ‘fiction’ and ‘subject-specific’ catalogue of texts – with new materials being selected by both students and staff to create a well-rounded inventory to engage and support all with reading, both for academic attainment and reading for pleasure. As well as offering computer access, the space also provides both workspace seating, as well as ‘relaxed’ spaces for students to rest and read – offering over 18,000 books (some signed by the authors themselves) and online materials for pupils from 8am until 4pm weekly. The space is also used regularly to host visiting speakers – from writers to careers – to meet and work with our students.
ACCESS:
The LRC is open daily at break times and lunch, as well as both before and after school.
Morning = 8:10am to 8:30am
Break time = 11am to 11:20am
Lunch times = 1:25pm to 2:00pm
After-school = 3:10pm to 4pm.
The LRC is open to everyone in the morning and after-school, but to access the space at break and lunch time, students must apply for a pass. Application forms can be collected from the library and need to be completed by both the student and a parent / carer. We ask that this document is read completely before it is signed and returned (passes will be available for collection 24 hours after submitting this form).
LOANS:
All students receive a library account when they enroll at Rockwood Academy. This account allows all students to take out up to four books at a time, for a loan period of three-weeks – with ‘return’ dates stamped inside the books, to allow students to know when a book is due for return. If the student has not finished the book by the due date, they are welcome to bring it to the library, where we can renew the book a further two times (for a total loan period of nine weeks). We also offer a selection of DVDs, linked to key school texts and student interests, which can also be loaned out for up to three weeks from our LRC.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
All students are welcome to access our LRC and are expected to follow the school expectations for conduct and behavior. If a student is in breach of these expectations, they will receive a warning. A total of three warnings will be issued over the course of the academic year. If a student exceeds this, their LRC pass will be withdrawn for the remainder of the academic year (students will be able to re-apply in September).
Regarding the borrowing of resources, all students are required to be responsible for any items loaned from the LRC – including the safe return of these items on, or before, the agreed return date. In the event of loss or serious damage to any loaned item, we kindly request that is the responsibility of the parent / carer to either provide a replacement copy of the item or assist the school by covering the cost of any replacements. Thank you.
CLUBS & EVENTS:
As part of our daily running, the LRC offers our students many opportunities for support and participation – with ‘Games Clubs’ taking place during lunch times and ‘Homework Club’ after-school – these clubs are open to all students. We also have a specially run ‘Chess Club’ every Monday lunch time, supported by our incredible PE staff.
To encourage student engagement with independent reading, we run various promotions throughout the year, linking to areas of our diverse ‘Fiction’ section:
October: ‘Halloween Promotion’ – linked to our ‘Supernatural’ genre section.
December: ‘Festive Reads’ – linking to our ‘Fantasy’ genre section.
February: ‘Valentines’ – linking to our ‘Romance’ genre section.
July: ‘Summer Adventures’ – linked to our ‘Action’ genre section.
All promotions are supported with prizes and rewards and are open to all students to take part in. We also run competitions, such as our ‘Poetry Writing’ competition, as part of World Poetry Day, through our partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
The LRC also works closely with the National Literacy Trust as part of World Book Day in March. As well as giving away ‘World Book Day’ vouchers to all students, the LRC also provides library visitors with free books from the NLT. In March 2023, we gave away 150 free books to our students – with further free books being awarded as part of our regular competitions and student submission of book reviews.
We also work to support ‘Reading for Good’, a charity that helps children in hospitals with their reading – raising money for this worthwhile cause as part of a yearly readathon.
BOOK REVIEWS
Medusa: The Girl Behind the Myth by Jessie Burton
Medusa Book Review
Needle by Patrice Lawrence
Needle Book Review
Rules For Vampires by Alex Foulkes
Vampires Book Review
The Yoto Carnegies ‘Shadowing’ Reading Group
Since 2022, our students have also had the opportunity to take part in reading at a national level, through our participation in the Yoto Carnegies literature awards – reading and reviewing both the longlist and shortlist competition entries and submitting reviews and nominations for the ‘shadowing’ choice award, decided in June each year. For the past few years our students have been a part of a national vote and successfully nominated the winner of this award in both 2023 and 2024 – with our student reviews being published in their very own magazine (please see below).
Rockwood Reads Shadowing Group Magazine 2022
Rockwood Reads Shadowing Group Magazine Reviews 2022
Rockwood Reads Shadowing Group Magazine 2023
Rockwood Reads Shadowing Group Magazine Reviews 2023
Rockwood Reads Shadowing Group Magazine 2024
Rockwood Reads Shadowing Group Magazine 2024
CORE ‘CANON’:
As part of the CORE Academies Trust, we are keen to promote reading to all our students – outside of the key texts that make up the curriculum content. To this end, the Trust staff have created the ‘CORE Canon’, a list of 31 book titles we recommend to students as important and enjoyable reads:
- Anne Frank – The Diary of Anne Frank
- Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Roald Dahl – Complete Collection
- Markus Zuzak – The Book Thief
- Harper Lee – To Kill a Mockingbird
- J.R.R. Tolkien – The Lord of the Rings Series
- Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens
- Meera Syal – Anita and Me
- John Green – The Fault in Our Stars
- Khaled Hosseini – A Thousand Splendid Suns
- Phillip Pullman – His Dark Materials Series
- John Agard – Collected Works
- George Orwell – 1984
- Simon Armitage – Collected Works
- J.K. Rowling – The Harry Potter Series
- Patrick Ness – A Monster Calls
- Emily Bronte – Wuthering Heights
- Malorie Blackman – Noughts and Crosses Series
- Angie Thomas – The Hate You Give
- Willy Russell – Our Day Out
- Kathryn Stockett – The Help
- Robert Louis Stevenson – The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
- Benjamin Zephaniah – Collected Works
- F.Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
- Mary Shelley – Frankenstein
- Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games Series
- Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale
- Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Sherlock Holmes Series
- Charles Dickens – Oliver Twist
- William Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet
All titles are available from the LRC and promoted throughout the school – why not loan one and write a review? (prizes available).
Book of the Month:
As part of our CORE Trust commitment to encourage independent reading, our school library promotes ‘Book of the Month’. Since September 2022, working with our librarians, literacy coordinators and teachers, we have shared with our students books that we feel will interest them and engage their imaginations – linking to events and issues that are relevant to current times and the society in which we live. Our library has copies of each of these texts, for our students to borrow and enjoy.
Books-of-the-Month-2023-to-2024
Books-of-the-Month-2022-to-2023
LIBRARY AMBASSADORS:
As part of our school ethos, we are also committed to student engagement and participation – encouraging shared ownership of the LRC space through our involvement of student librarians – or ‘Library Ambassadors’. These students not only play a key role in the daily running of the LRC space, but also help to shape it and influence how it runs to support students – such as providing book reviews and recommendations, helping to select book titles to appeal to their peers.
“I find the library to be fun and has an enormous range of books and resources. Personally, I enjoy helping people find the book they are looking for or giving them recommendations for books they might enjoy”.
- Arsalan (Year 10) Student Library Ambassador.
If you are in Year 8-to-10 and would like to apply for this role, please visit the LRC and pick up an application form (new members are asked to submit applications in September, with selection and training taking place in October).
LINKS:
The following are useful links to encourage reading outside of school:
Birmingham Library Association: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/libraries
Gutenberg Online Books: www.gutenberg.org
National Literacy Trust: https://literacytrust.org.uk
BookTrust (World Book Day): www.booktrust.org.uk
The Yoto Carnegies ‘Shadowing’ Reading Competition: https://yotocarnegies.co.uk
The Reader (Reading Support Organisation): https://www.thereader.org.uk
