St Vincent’s School Library
In December 2008, Lady Howard de Walden officially opened the St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School’s new library and met the pupils who sit on the School Council. The project – which involved significant redecoration and the purchase of new books, furniture, computers and library software – was made possible through the financial support of the Howard de Walden Estate, backed up by the fundraising activities of the St Vincent’s Parents’ Association.
“We really try to encourage a love of reading rather than it just being for a particular task or purpose,” said Marina Coleman, head teacher at the school. “The library we had previously was very small and had been jointly used as an ICT suite. The books were outdated and quite tatty, and there was no real motivation for the children to read them. So when we built a new ICT suite our next priority was to develop the library. 2008 was the National Year of Reading, so it also tied in with national priorities.”
The initial plan was simply to update the books. “But when we started sorting through them we decided that it would be much better to get all new books for the library and distribute the old ones among the classrooms,” said Marina. “The new books were chosen based on the children’s interests and the topics they study. And we used Westminster Library Service to recommend new authors or series of books.”
The entire library collection has been computerised, which allows the children to check the books in and out themselves. “That helps us to keep track of the books more easily. But also the pupils can review the books after they’ve read them, so when other children look up a book they can read the reviews. The computers have standard library software but are also used for researching information, just like in a public library.”
The school raised the extra money required after the Howard de Walden donation through a series of events. There were cake sales, discos and the Christmas, Easter and summer fairs. “We have a diverse community in our school,” said Marina, “so we have an annual international evening when everyone brings food and wears traditional dress from their country, and you just pay an entrance fee.” The biggest fundraiser was the annual auction. “We are very lucky being in Marylebone. The local businesses are very generous and donate restaurant vouchers, tickets to a show, cakes, jewellery, clothes – and all those items get auctioned.” All of this activity has even allowed bespoke furniture to be bought in the school colours.
“The children really love their new library and wrote Lady Howard lots of thank you letters,” said Marina. “Some saw a few of the books before the official opening and were really excited.”
The pupils on the School Council have aspirations to be everything from actors and professional footballers to lawyers, authors and crime scene investigators, and they’re finding the library to be a fantastic resource. The council’s 11-year-old chair, Eduardo Deliyannis, uses it frequently. “I thought it was a wonderful and creative idea for the whole school to be able to borrow books and take them home to read with their families,” he said.
Vice-chair Henry Histon cites his favourite subjects as maths, ICT and English. The eight-year-old is also delighted with the library. “We are very lucky,” he said. “It’s wonderful and we’ve got loads of new books.”
Treasurer Maya Thompson (8) finds the library a great place to generate creativity. “We can get ideas from all the books in here,” she said. Maya is also quick to praise the library’s interior design. “I think it’s really colourful, which makes it a better place to learn.”
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