St Mark’s School Literacy Week 9-13th February

St Mark’s School was buzzing with bookish behaviour last week as the students and staff enjoyed four days of literacy-focused activities culminating in a dress-up Thursday of sartorial wackiness and extravagance.

Harry Wainwright from The Oldfield Park Bookshop kicked off the festivities on the Monday with an engaging assembly, featuring eight of his favourite works of teenage fiction. Throughout the week the school library hosted events, including a flash fiction writing competition.

The final assembly featured a fascinating talk from local author Marie-Louise Jensen, who shared her latest work ‘Runaway’: a tale of murder, intrigue, a lost heir, love and above all of horses set in the West Country in 1725 Georgian England. Marie-Louise arrived dressed as a stable boy only to find the staff and students of St Mark’s in a similar state of disguise as the focus of the day was dressing up as a fictional character. Notable outfits included a maths teacher dressed as an Oompa Loompa and the Headteacher, Barnaby Ash, presenting the assembly as James Bond.

Head of English, Dr James Thomas, said, “Students need to have opportunities to participate in events outside of the classroom environment that help to create memorable and enriching learning experiences and we are delighted that everyone enjoyed the week’s activities so much.”

“Thursday’s dress-up day enabled students to explore literature in some new and rather amusing ways!”

Headteacher, Barnaby Ash, congratulated the English Faculty for their innovative spin on Literacy Week, “Learning is about having fun and exploring new ideas and the team have pulled out all of the stops to ensure that this year’s Literacy Week captured the imagination of all.”

“The education of young people should combine excellence in academic achievement with an enriching and fun-filled educational experience and that has certainly been achieved today.”