The Schools at Somerhill Prep Library

The Schools at Somerhill are located in , and consist of separate preparatory schools for boys (Yardley Court) and girls (Derwent Lodge) and a co- educational Pre-prep and Nursery. Both Yardley Court and Derwent Lodge share the Prep Library, run by Mrs Susan Smith, meeting the needs of the c.390 pupils in Years 3 to 8.

Mrs Smith has been the prep school librarian for five years and manages the Lovereading4schools reading lists. Already a Lovereading4kids user, familiar with its easy search facility, reviews by Julia Eccleshare MBE and age guidelines for each book, Mrs Smith did not take much persuading to carry on with the schools’ Lovereading4schools reading list facility. This service includes all the features of Lovereading4kids plus the opportunity for parents to download extracts and buy online.

At the beginning of each school year, Mrs Smith works with the English teachers to edit the lists to suit their needs. Some titles are removed that will be read in class, plus others added which are their own personal favourites. Mrs Smith also uses some of our special collection lists for library purposes too, in particular our World War One collection has been helpful in this eventful centennial year.

The lists and links to Lovereading4schools and Lovereading4kids are shared in various ways with parents and children. Parentmail is used to inform parents that the lists have been updated and instructions are included on how to register on the site, select the school and year group. The children are also shown how to access the lists to encourage them to start reading the recommended books. In the library, posters are displayed to guide them.

We love your Lovereading4kids website and your Reading Lists facility is super!

– Mrs Smith, The Schools at Somerhill

Links are added to the school website as well as the pupil intranet and library catalogue for direct access to the schools’ Lovereading4schools page. Pupil librarians help to keep a constant supply of Lovereading bookmarks and browser cards and on top of all this, Mrs Smith also runs fun activities in the weekly library sessions focusing on Lovereading, taking inspiration from the emails and website activities. Recently the children have entered the book cover design competition by Puffin Classics and have browsed the site to write their own Christmas book wish lists. These are all activities that reinforce the schools’ use of Lovereading4schools and make reading fun and interactive.

To find out more, simply visit Lovereading4schools.co.uk or email [email protected]