Book Club: Christmas 2019

On 12 December 2019, students gathered after school for the Book Club’s annual event to celebrate Christmas and the festive season.

This year, the title was “Christmas past, present, and future” which acted as the core theme for the main part of what had been arranged by the group’s mentors and members. As expected with such a title, the event started with a short discussion about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol before the group had the chance to watch a classic comedy version of the tale. It was then time for some students to take to the floor to perform a selection of poems which were also specially chosen to cover the ideas of reflecting on the history of Christmas, how the holiday is celebrated nowadays, and what role technology might have to play in the future of the season.

After this, one of the group’s mentors gave a short presentation about some of the books which have been added to the school library’s English collection in 2019. A wide range of genres was covered and students had the opportunity to make a note of some suggestions about what they might choose to read over the holidays ahead. Although some of the titles were known to the students through discussions in class and promotional displays for our Books of the Month, it was a chance to find out more about some books which have won awards or gathered media attention over the past year. Alongside what was arranged as our usual December book display, members of the group were confident they would be able to find something to really enjoy when they have the time to relax and read as the year comes to an end.

With this part of the event over, the focus turned to enjoying some delicious refreshments arranged by our school kitchen team as the group got themselves ready for our annual Quiz of the Year. Subjects as diverse as traditional British foods, classic festive films, popular books of the past year, Christmas album titles, and many others were covered in a quiz that was greatly enjoyed by everyone involved. It also turned out to be one of the closest competitions in the history of these events with just a single point between the winners and the runners-up.

The Book Club would like to thank everyone who turned up for the occasion and congratulate those who gave readings for their excellent performances. The event put us all in the right type of festive mood to enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays and we look forward to arranging other such events through the rest of the school year.