World Book Night is celebrated annually on the 23rd April. It is designed to ‘bring people from all backgrounds together for one reason – to inspire others to read more.’ (The Reading Agency, 2025)
Each year, the Library devises a range of activities to help inspire reading for pleasure amongst our students and staff. This year our Librarian, Mrs Chávez, organised the College’s inaugural Big Book Giveaway with 40 students receiving a free book! There were also competitions to win National Book Tokens and chocolate. “I’m always trying to think of ways of encouraging reading for pleasure amongst our students. Unlike World Book Day which is targeted at younger pupils, World Book Night provides an excellent opportunity to promote reading for pleasure amongst our 16+ cohort and staff”, Mrs Chávez says. All the competitions began on World Book Day when we returned from the Easter break and ran for 3 weeks to allow Year 12, who were also completing their internal exams, the opportunity to enter. Here’s what happened this year.
The DSFC Big Book Giveaway
Mrs Chávez explains how the idea came about: “A few years ago, I collected book donations from parents and staff and left them around the College for anyone to take. It proved so popular that 21 books were taken within 2 days and we received some really positive feedback from students who felt genuinely grateful that someone had given them a book for free with no expectations attached. I wanted to try and recapture that excitement and also open up the opportunity to more students within the College, including those who might not initially be inclined to pick up a book themselves. This year, therefore, I decided to purchase 40 books from the Quick Reads range with the aim of giving them out for free.” Quick Reads are ‘short books and great stories by bestselling authors [that] provide a route into reading that prioritises great story telling and adult-focused content while ensuring the books are written in an accessible and easy to read style.’ (The Reading Agency, 2024).
These are the books that were purchased:
Every student in the College was automatically entered into the draw. They could also contact Mrs Chávez to get themselves an extra entry and boost their chances of being selected. The Year 12 and Year 13 names were drawn separately with 20 winners from each year group. “I tried to match the student with the book I thought they might enjoy best. I’m looking forward to hearing what they thought of their book!”
Whose Favourite Book Is This?
A board outside the Library entrance displayed 16 book covers and blurbs with a list of 16 members of staff to the side. Students and staff were invited to try and match each member of staff to their favourite book. “It was very tricky but some of the books chosen did help give an indication about whose they might be!” Mrs Chávez says. Both of our winners correctly matched 3 members of staff to their favourite book. We had a clear staff winner – congratulations to Mrs Bewick – and 3 students who were tied. Their names went into a draw to randomly select the winner and congratulations go to Nathan (Y12). Mrs Bewick and Nathan have each won a £10 National Book Token.
Nathan collecting his prize
Guess the Character from Their Dating Profile
Students were given 9 ‘dating profiles’ and asked to guess which fictional character they thought the profile belonged to. You can have a go by looking at the profiles below – then check your answers at the bottom of this page!
1. Well-educated gentleman of pureblood heritage looking for like-minded individual to help rid the world of lesser mortals and annoying boy wizards. Must like snakes.
2. Friendly, brown-haired, spectacle-wearing man who likes crowds, stripes and bobble hats. Looking for someone to hide away with and get lost in the crowds.
3. Girl with great survival skills. Expert with a bow and arrow looking for someone with great survival skills who can light my fire and help overthrow a corrupt regime. Soft spot for breadmakers.
4. White wizard (formerly grey). I’ve been there and back again and now I’m ready to settle down. Looking for someone to join my fellowship. Civil partnership only through – no rings.
5. An outcast all my life due to the colour of my skin. I’ve never been popular but I’ve learnt I can fly if I believe in myself. Looking for a fellow crusader to stand up for people against our over-powering wizard leader. A love of green would help.
6. I had a powerful first love but I’ve been hurt by love since. Let’s start something new. Don’t let it end with us.
7. I’m a university professor of Religious Iconology and Symbology with a special interest in Da Vinci. Looking for someone who enjoys the thrill of the chase and solving puzzles.
8. I am probably the greatest detective in the world with the finest brain in Europe looking for a companion to spend my days with. Must be neat, tidy and particular.
9. Fashion trendsetter who loves luxurious fabrics, such as satin, silk and a LOT of fur. Mostly in black and white. Would like to meet a like-minded mate with LOTS of money. No pets.
We had 4 students who correctly guessed all 9 characters. Their names went into a draw and our winner, Laura (Y12) was selected. Laura has won a large bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk.
Win Chocolate with a Guess!
“This has always been my most popular competition since I started running it in 2021“, Mrs Chávez says. “It is linked to the British Book Awards which take place in May each year. Students and staff are invited to try and guess which books are going to win each of the categories. This year there were 12 category shortlists: Fiction, Pageturner, Crime & Thriller, Debut Fiction, Non-Fiction: Narrative, Non-Fiction: Lifestyle & Illustrated, Discover, Children’s Non-Fiction, Children’s Illustrated, Children’s Fiction, Audiobook: Non-Fiction and Audiobook: Fiction. No prior knowledge is needed for this competition, it is purely a guessing game.” Our winners this year correctly guessed 6 of the winning books. We had a clear student winner – congratulations to Harry (Y13) – and 2 staff members who were tied. Their names went into a draw to randomly select the winner and congratulations go to Miss Bingham. Harry and Miss Bingham have each won a large bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk. “We also had a few book requests come in off the back of the competition, so I will be looking to purchase them for the Library when we return after half term.”
Harry collecting his prize
Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s celebration and congratulations to our 45 winners!
Guess the Character From Their Dating Profile – ANSWERS
1. Voldemort from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
2. Wally from the Where’s Wally series by Martin Handford
3. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
4. Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien
5. Elphaba Thropp from Wicked by Gregory Maguire
6. Lily Bloom from It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
7. Robert Langdon from The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
8. Hercule Poirot from the Poirot books by Agatha Christie
9. Cruella de Vil from The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
Well done if you guessed all 9 correctly!