Abbey Hill children collaborate on whole school story for World Book Day

Abbey Hill Primary and Nursery School, based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, dedicated Tuesday 5th March to celebrate World Book Day with an inclusive and innovative whole-school story-writing event. The day brought an immersive literary experience for the children, complimented by various literature-based celebrations throughout the day.

Steering the day's activities was Gareth Baker, the acclaimed children’s author of ‘Moggy on a Mission’ and the much-loved Brackenbelly series. Gareth is also Abbey Hill’s Patron of Reading.

During the day, the children worked together to produce their own story which was to be aimed at 4–7-year-olds. Each year group of the school played their parts in building the story and bringing it to life.

Foundation 2 children helped shape characters from a collection of toys, naming them and deciding what kinds of characters they were. The creative baton was passed progressively higher through the year groups, each building on the story and having great fun developing it into a complete narrative. Once the chain of storytelling had made its way to the school’s Key Stage 2 children, they read through the pages, editing and refining the collaborative tale into its finished product. The story is now being turned into a book for release and enjoyment in the coming weeks!

Gareth Baker performed the finished story, using the toys that started off the book’s journey through the school. This helped show the youngest contributors how their efforts were instrumental in the process.

In addition to the story-telling project, the staff at Abbey Hill organised a multitude of other activities to mark this popular calendar date. This included a ‘Design a Book Cover’ competition, a book-swap event, school-wide story-times within classes, creative-writing letter projects, as well as the tradition of children being invited to dress as their favourite character or to cosy up in pyjamas for the day.

Adam Jevons-Newman, the school’s acting headteacher, expresses the school’s commitment to the world of literature, stating: “Reading is at the centre of all we do, and books are at the heart of our curriculum. World Book Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate and enjoy reading but also to celebrate that we also have real-life authors here at Abbey Hill – Gareth Baker of course – but also our talented pupils!”

Gareth Baker also adds that “Reading, apart from social skills, is the one thing you learn in school that you will use every day for the rest of your life. Research also shows that people who read are happier and live with less stress, which is sadly a major issue these days. Therefore, it is essential for schools, parents and carers to develop a love of reading within our young. Simply put: people who read have more life opportunities, and who doesn't want that for their children?”