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Redmaids’ High Junior School shortlisted for Independent Schools of the Year Awards
Since the opening of their new fiction library in January 2024, the cosy and welcoming space that pupils themselves helped to design has become central to many of the activities and initiatives that the school organises to support the school’s well-being programme.
Regular Book Clubs support pupils in making connections with each other and the world around them. Pupils test out different perspectives with guided discussions, supporting their sense of self as they journey towards adolescence. Recent reading material has included modern European history, space travel and contemporary world conflict. Parent Book Club invites parents to enjoy children’s fiction, prompting discussions in school and at home.
Their weekly Story-Telling Club explores creative games and pupils are encouraged to respond freely and craft stories together. Performing their stories offers an opportunity for affirmation – there isn’t a ‘wrong’ answer, which negates the girls’ frequent anxieties to ‘get it right’ and emphasises the school’s ethos to ‘have a go’.
Continual learning promotes well-being, and there is always something new to tackle in the library. Four author visits last year inspired pupils to be ambitious in their own writing. Their termly Reading Challenges tempt girls out of their comfort zones towards unexplored authors and genres. The Year 5 Personal Reading Programme, where the librarian guides individual reading, has been equally impactful in encouraging girls to read more frequently.
Volunteering is acknowledged as a source of well-being. The library welcomes a team of volunteers each week – parents, Senior School students and Year 5 Junior Librarians. The relationships between the Year 5 and Year 9 girls are blessed by conversations about shared experiences and the transition to the Senior School. Organic peer mentoring has been hugely beneficial, and for some pupils, the library has become their ‘safe space’ at school.
The school’s well-being programme includes many more activities and initiatives, with the library providing additional opportunities to promote well-being at Redmaids’ High Junior School.
Discover the Junior School at one of their open events this term on 9 and 17 October, and 8 November. Click here for more information.
Main image Redmaids’ High Junior School
