At Perdiswell we had such a vibrant programme of reading-related activities to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 5 March. It was a day that sparked imagination, continued to inspire a love of reading and brought our wonderful community together through words, stories and good fun. We also welcomed the Mayor of Worcester Cllr Dr Matt Lamb and the Mayoress of Worcester Zoe Cookson.

Is it really World Book Day unless we see children and teachers arriving to school dressed up as their favourite literary characters? It’s really fun to enjoy the colour and excitement it brings. For those who are happy with the briefest nod to dressing up to those who go the whole hog and are barely recognisable! On that theme, some of our teachers also tested the pupils in a ‘Masked Reader’ game, where they read a story in disguise and challenged the children to guess who was reading.

Mr Norman said “World Book Day is always one of the school’s calendar highlights as it is so joyful. We make sure that our day’s events appeal to all pupils, engaging interest and promoting the many benefits of enjoying a good book. Reading is the building block for everything, a fundamental requirement for learning, but the key is to make it rewarding as well. World Book Day is a great reminder of how we can share a love of words and stories through fiction and non-fiction, and help our pupils find reading they can really relate to.”

Throughout the day, Perdiswell children took part in a range of reading activities including Buddy Reading where older and younger pupils paired up to share stories and read together. Our hard-working PTA hosted a popular bookstall stocked with a variety of books – which allowed the children to buy books to take home. Every child left with at least one new book, with an optional £1 donation. The book theme even showed up in PE where the children played Quidditch, inspired by the Harry Potter series!

The Mayor and Mayoress read to groups of children throughout the day. Mayoress Zoe Cookson, is a published children’s author so she was especially delighted to share her love of words and story-telling. To the excitement of the pupils, she read her own book “Odd Job Frog”. Their visit was incredibly inspirational for the pupils as they listened to stories being brought to life by their special guests.

Mayor Cllr Dr Matt Lamb commented “I have been visiting as many schools, colleges and universities as possible recently as my mayoral theme is learning. I want to encourage a love of books – we have so many screens being used these days it’s nice to be able to show how important reading is.”

We were also able to represent World Book Day through art. Themed with ‘Story in a Box’ the children were invited to create miniature scenes inside a shoe box, inspired by a favourite book or story.

Classes also took part in Readers’ Theatre, performing animated readings of poetry to celebrate the power of the spoken word. Readers’ Theatre focuses purely on expression, tone of voice and emotions without the need to memorise words, act or use props. This can take away some of the pressure of having to perform ‘perfectly’ as it is much more free-flowing.

Taking the love of books out into the local community, a few pupils visited Perdiswell Rose Care Home where they confidently read to the residents, making sure that no one missed out on a story.

Mr Norman said “Our World Book Day 2026 has been amazing and I must thank all the teachers, PTA and families of the school for everything they have done today. Together, these activities create a joyful celebration of reading, creativity and community – everything World Book Day and Tudor Grange Academy Perdiswell stands for.”