The Learning Resource Centre is home to over 12,000 books, news and media items and aims to provide resources to support teaching and learning as well as supply an exciting range of the latest fiction and non-fiction to promote reading for pleasure.
Within the LRC is a computer suite with 12 networked computers which students may use for research during breaks and after school. In addition students have access to the latest FizzBook laptops when in the LRC for lessons. These may also be borrowed by Sixth Form students during study periods.
We also offer a range of DVDs from the latest blockbuster to book adaptations and films in foreign languages.
Students are encouraged to visit the LRC during break and lunchtime when they are always welcome to read, undertake research and homework or play card or board games from our entertainments area.
The LRC is managed by Mrs A. Poole assisted by Mrs L. Kirkland. We operate a volunteer programme and are pleased to receive applications from students to enrol as library assistants to help during lunchtimes.
The LRC is open at the following times to students wishing to read or study. Parents should be aware that on occasion the LRC may need to close after school without notice.
The LRC is open:
- Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8.50 - 4.30pm
- Tuesday 8.50 - 3.35pm
- Friday 8.50 - 4.00pm
Philip Allan publish a series of magazines which support studies for many subjects at KS5. The current print editions can be found in the LRC. To access the archive of magazines and linked resources for the subjects you are studying please log in and click on the link below.
Are you looking for a really good read? We think these books are outstanding and hope that you will agree! We hope that as many staff and students as possible will try these books this year and share their opinions with one another. There's no requirement to love the book - in fact, we think there may be a marmite book in there!
The LRC hosts several book groups whose members meet regularly to share opinions about a selected book. If you like to read and would enjoy discussing great books with others, please join us! Call in to the LRC and speak to Mrs Poole.
|
Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
"A warm and inspiring tale about friendship and families with real substance and style" - Sunday Times
Eight secrets. One girl about to unlock her past...
Elise, age 11, lives on a farm with her aunt and uncle and has just started at a new high school. The story follows her life at home and school, her friendships and her quest to find out about her parents. There are a series of ups and downs – falling out with her best friend, Franklin, making new friends and standing up to a school bully. As the title suggests Elise 'finds' eight keys that unlock various rooms revealing stories about her mum and dad, both of whom died when she was very young. Each key gives her the inspiration to move on in life and reflect on situations she finds herself in. It is a feel good story, well written and I would recommend to Y7+.
Click here for more...
The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada
'The Auschwitz Violin', in its simplest description, is a story following a Jewish man called Daniel and his account of how he had to make a violin in time for a concert while constantly struggling to survive during his imprisonment in the Auschwitz camp. I feel that 'The Auschwitz Violin' is a truly gripping novel and the fact that it is a true story adds to the emotion. Although Maria Angels Anglada does write about Daniel's desperate struggle to carry on and his battle with starvation, I feel that she only scratches the surface of the horrific suffering of an entire race. If she had added more 'scenes' of torment then the novel would have been even more gripping, although the real documents at the start of every chapter were used in a powerful way that shocked me as a reader, adding to the potency of the story.
My favourite scene was probably when the violin is completed and Daniel is called to the commander's house (p114-115). He is told he has completed his task on time and is given a bonus which turns out to be some stew. This was a powerful scene as it made me realise how desperate they were and how a bowl of stew could bring so much happiness, strange as it may sound. Throughout the story we see how a struggle for food becomes a semantic field of torment and desperation. Daniel being awarded a bowl of stew gave me a sense of relief as the novel truly made me feel sorry for him.
Overall I think that 'The Auschwitz Violin' is a good read and I am very glad I picked it up. I award it 3/5* and found it quick to finish reading it in 2hrs 30 minutes.
Recommended by Charlie Higgins 10C
Click here for more... |
