Our school’s corridors were once again filled with bookish excitement when we hosted our very successful Battle of the Books (BotB).

Now a regular feature of the reading calendar, the competition entailed teachers creating 30-second video endorsements of the book they loved reading and the students voting in their thousands to pick a winner.

Our school’s corridors were once again filled with bookish excitement when we hosted our very successful Battle of the Books (BotB).

Now a regular feature of the reading calendar, the competition entailed teachers creating 30-second video endorsements of the book they loved reading and the students voting in their thousands to pick a winner.

This year's competition was the most contested ever, with a new high of 26,000+ votes being cast.

Submissions for book titles varied from Roald Dahl's Witches to The Real Book, the classic jazz music text, but the overwhelming favourite by some margin was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which strongly appealed to our students.

The project forms a key part of our ongoing work to foster a love of reading for a lifetime. The Department for Education’s Reading Framework explains very clearly that reading every day has enormous academic, social and emotional benefits.

This is why we want to make reading a habit of every student and every member of teaching staff because when young people see adults reading around them they are far more likely to get into a book themselves.

During World Book Day we used our own way in encouraging young people to build that relationship with books. The week entailed our student's receiving book vouchers, Year 7s visiting author Joseph Coelho at the Genesis Cinema, and staff coming in dressed as their favourite book characters.

Everyones engagement levels were greater than ever! 58% of tutor groups participated, that’s up from 45% last year, and there was a massive increase in online voting.

We already have many ideas brewing for next year's BotB, like incorporating badges for participants and increasing our Sixth Formers' participation. We are truly going to spread the joy of reading across our school community.

The Battle of the Books was not only a fun event, but a cultural shift in the making. This initiative truly reflects our school value of Aspiration, inspiring our students to aim high, think critically, and build a genuine relationship with books.