A celebration of reading - World Book Day 2025
Members of the Bedales community joined other schools in the UK and Ireland to mark this year’s World Book Day on Thursday 6 March, by dressing up as their favourite book characters and immersing themselves in a series of reading-related activities.
At Bedales Prep, literary favourites were brought to life through a vibrant display of costumes, with the likes of Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, leading characters from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Queen of Hearts from Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland all attending lessons for the day.
Head of English at Bedales Prep Nichola Gotel led a World Book Day themed assembly in the morning, emphasising the power of reading for all ages and explaining the reasons behind the annual event. Dressed as Prue from The Land Girls by Angela Huth, Nichola shared a selection of books with strong female leads ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March, before handing the assembly over to a group of Block 2 (Year 8) students. The students hosted a short debate, based on a hypothetical scenario in which all books, bar one, would be lost forever. The individuals pitched their choice of book to the audience, providing a brief description and explaining why their story should be the one to survive. Among the line up were Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple, Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich and the Holy Bible, however it was Julia Donaldson’s much-loved The Gruffalo that received the most votes and was therefore saved.
In the lead up to World Book Day, teachers dedicated more time to books and storytelling in tutor times, providing opportunities for reading as much as possible and sharing an appreciation of books through games, discussions and recommendations.
The celebration of books and storytelling will continue throughout the month, with children at Bedales Prep participating in a sponsored March Readathon to raise money for Read for Good – a UK charity that provides children and young people access to books in schools and hospitals to inspire a life-changing love of learning. Students and staff have been keeping track of the number of pages read each week with a coloured chart and once a book has been completed, the title is written on ‘book stack’ posters in The Well.
(If you would like to sponsor a Bedales Prep student taking part in the Readathon, click here)
In addition to dressing up, children at Bedales Pre-prep were encouraged to create masks inspired by their favourite book characters, which have been proudly displayed in the library. The children have also been attending weekly workshops run by Bedales Librarian Marianne De Giovanni, to help them explore how illustrators bring stories to life through pictures, and as part of their exploration into African countries, Year 2 children experienced stories from Uganda with storyteller Kwame.
Nichola Gotel commented: “Books - for me - are always about understanding, about trying out other lives and perspectives and living bigger and broader than any of us can in a single lifetime. Knowing you are part of something bigger, an international celebration such as World Book Day reminds us that everyone's story matters and that the joy of storytelling draws us closer together.”
Originally established in 1995 by UNESCO, the annual event promotes the enjoyment of books and reading for pleasure and is celebrated by 100 countries around the world, with this year marking its 30th anniversary globally. In the UK and Ireland, World Book Day was first celebrated three years later in 1998 and continues to take place on the first Thursday in March.
