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"The school has prioritised reading. This is a successful whole-school initiative."

Trinity School library is a welcoming, positive and dynamic space where students are encouraged and empowered in their reading and learning. We aim to serve students and staff with a wide variety of literature for reading for pleasure, and non-fiction texts to increase knowledge and aid study, as well as materials for wider reading.

From a Christian perspective, as a school we try and equip our students and those who hold a Christian worldview to grow in spiritual discernment, so that when they read a wide variety of literature, they can read it through a Christian worldview lens. We hope that by doing so, students can grow in their faith as they apply their own Christian beliefs to different forms of literature.

As professionals with knowledge of resources for young people, taking into consideration Trinity School’s values and ethos, Trinity School library managers have responsibility for the selection of materials for inclusion in the library. Recommendations and requests are welcome from school staff, students, and parents/carers; requested items must meet the selection criteria before acquisition.

Items are selected based on the needs of the library’s diverse user groups, which include students from Years 7 to Year 13, as well as staff members. As such, a diverse range of materials is required to meet the needs of these groups. We prioritise stock that users will enjoy, but that will also challenge and extend reading, personal and interpersonal skills, as well as provide different viewpoints in order to increase enjoyment, promote learning, and build empathy. This provides for the inclusion of books that are challenging in content or style.

In selecting materials for inclusion, the library managers judge materials based on:    

• Educational relevance
• Contribution the subject matter makes to the curriculum and to the interests of students
• Authoritative reviews found in professional selection sources (e.g. Library School Association publications)
• Reputation, authority and significance of the author, producer, and publisher
• Validity, currency, and appropriateness of material
• High degree of potential user appeal
• High artistic quality and/or literary style
• Quality and variety of format
• Value commensurate with cost and/or need
• Providing balance to controversial issues in a manner compliant with other selection criteria

Materials are removed from the library on a rolling basis. This is often due to lack of use, changes in the curriculum, outdated or inaccurate information, overall condition, and/or lack of appeal to user groups.

Following removal, materials are, in order of priority:

• Given to school staff for classroom use
• Given to students for individual use
• Given to school staff for individual use
• Donated to charity
• Recycled or otherwise disposed of

Trinity School’s students vary greatly in age, maturity level, life experience, interests, and ability, and as such, every resource in the school library will not be suitable for every student. While library managers will encourage and guide students toward suitable resources, they cannot gauge suitability of every resource for every individual student.

Library managers will allocate items to either general stock for all students, or to our Year 9+/Year 12+ collections for resources not suitable for younger readers unless parents/carers provide written permission to access these. This includes fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels. Should your son/daughter be in Year 9 or above and you do not wish them to have access to our Year 9+/Year 12+ sections without your consent please email us at library@trinitysevenoaks.com and we can ensure this is noted.

Trinity School always encourages parents/carers to engage with their children’s reading. If parents believe a resource that their child has brought home is unsuitable, they should ask their child to return it to the library and we are happy to help students find something more suitable.

We are happy to accept book recommendation requests which will be considered according to the selection criteria.

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Library - Key Information

Library Team: Mrs Sullivan & Mrs Harris

Email: library@trinitysevenoaks.com

Opening Times:

Before School	8.30am - 8.45am
Breaktime	10.15am - 10.35am
Lunchtime	12.40pm - 1.15pm Refer to timetable on library door for lunchtime access.
After School	3.20pm - 4.30pm (closed Tuesday)

Sometimes the library is closed for meetings, training, exams etc. Students should check the sign on the door before entering.

 

Please refer to the Library Code of Conduct section for the full list of expectations.

 

Library Newsletter. Refer to the library newsletter section for details.

 

Book Awards Book Club - Wednesday Lunchtimes. If any student would like to join the book awards club please email the library for details.

 

The Yoto Carnegie Medal. Click here for details. The Carnegie Book Club runs during the Summer Term.

 

PageTurners Annual Themed Book Awards for teenagers and young adults. Over fifteen South East secondary schools participate.  Each year a different theme for the awards is chosen and ten shortlisted books selected. The reading cycle starts in September and culminates in an awards gala evening where the winning title is revealed live. This annual event takes place in March with guest authors and is hosted at Weald of Kent, Tonbridge. For further details click here. 

 

PageTurners Book Awards Club runs during the Autumn and Winter terms.

 

PageTurners Annual Themed Book Awards Gala Evening – Thursday 21st March 2024 Since September a number of students have been participating in the PageTurners book club, meeting weekly in the library to read and discuss a range of books based on the theme “Turning the Page to Tomorrow”. On Thursday 21st March we attended an Awards evening at Weald of Kent Grammar School, Tonbridge along with other local schools participating in PageTurners. The evening was great fun and well attended. Students were invited to come in fancy dress and submit creative responses based on the theme with prizes for the most creative. Light refreshments were provided as well as book vouchers to spend at the event book stall run by Sevenoaks Bookshop. Students listened to guest authors Nicola Penfold and Lauren James as well as various pre-recorded authors. The evening ended with the announcement of the Award winner which was The Survival Game by Nicky Singer. The Library Managers would like to thank those students that took part for their exemplary behaviour and enthusiasm over the last few months.

 

Exciting activities take place for World Book Day in March click here and National Poetry Day in October click here.

 

World Book Day 2024 Trinity School celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 7th March. The Library was decorated in a Home Front WW2 theme representing ‘When the Sky Falls’ by Phil Earle, a very popular book with students. Year 7 were invited to come dressed in fancy dress representing a book or a character, with prizes being awarded for the most creative or imaginative costume. We were impressed with the range of books represented and the creativity that went into some of the costumes. Student activities took place throughout the day including a mystery readers challenge in the library, an alternative book title quiz and a book treasure hunt round the school for Year 8 students.

 

Book related competitions run every term. All entries receive a reward. Here are our most recent highlights.

National Poetry Day - Poet-Tree Competition 2024

 

Book Themed Christmas Bauble Competition 2024

 

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Do you know you can join a local library for free? Kent County Council has 99 libraries across the county, and you are able to borrow books from any of them. You can reserve books via their website, or request books held in any of the Kent libraries be sent to your nearest. You can also access thousands of eBooks, audiobooks, eMagazines and eNewspapers for free. Click Libraries - Kent County Council for more information and to search for your nearest library.