S6 pupils at Holyrood Secondary organised an Anti-Racism outreach library in the fuel zone. This event promoted anti-racist, diverse books, in a friendly setting – many young people and staff stopped to browse, chat and borrow during their lunch hour. The books were selected from the school library and included biographies, travel and culture, and fiction by authors of all different nationalities and cultures. Huge thank you to our S6 Anti-Racism Leadership Group for organising and making this such a fun lunchtime! Well done to our S1 helpers too, for taking over during BGE lunchtime.
October is Black History Month. Well done to Miss Porch’s S1 class, who took great pride in choosing books about black scientists, sports people, politicians and celebrities for our BHM book display.
Our Holyrood Family is made up of young people from 44 different countries, speaking 62 languages (and counting!). We enjoy celebrating our many different cultures, with books and events in the library. Our library stock is developing to better reflect the diversity of our school community. New ideas on how we can do this, are always welcome. 
October Book Recommendations
Librarian’s choice:
The Happiest Man on Earth: Author, Eddie Jaku survived terrible cruelty in the Nazi death camps. This is an incredible book about hope, courage and friendship that helped him survive.
Student’s Choice
Planet Omar, by Zanib Mian: Good for fans of ‘Wimpy Kid’, Omar with have you roaring with laughter.
Happy Reading!
Mehreen, S3
The Night Circus by Erin Morgensten “I really loved this book. It’s the definition of a fantasy book. It’s so magical and really transports you to another world. Definitely my favourite book.” Isha, S4
This hardworking S1 class are examining the books and deciding on headings such as Climate change, Refugees, Racism, Crime, Poverty
In June, I visited St. Abbs. Are you a fan of Marvel Comics and the Avengers movies? In ‘Endgame’ filmed in 2017, St. Abbs beautiful coastline became the location for Thor’s home planet.
Zirsh, S6, read many books during the holidays. This one was perfect for summer reading as it was about friendship, and travelling together, very enjoyable.
Lunchtime Reading We were delighted to win 10 copies of Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin. We hope to read and review this book together. Happy to share our spare copies!
Taiba : “I like reading because it allows me to stand in other peoples’ shoes and experience someone else’s life for a while. I always struggled to decide what I wanted to pursue at university. Reading books written by many different professionals in their careers, such as ‘When Breath Becomes Air‘ made me feel I could make a more educated choice. Reading has also prepared me for the university application process and has given me things to talk about in interviews”.
Our EAL Book Group continues to meet at lunchtimes when we have fun chatting, eating lunch and finding new books to enjoy together.
On National Poetry Day we had a visit from Anita Govan. Ms Longo’s S3 put their heart & soul into improvising and performing their own poems. Anita presented us with a copy of her book. What a fantastic day.
Alex Nye visited us for Book Week Scotland. S2 & S3 loved Alex’s ‘Art of the Ghost Story’ workshop. Miss Cameron & Mr Clarke’s classes came up with brilliant questions. A fascinating insight into being an author. Well done all!
A December highlight was a visit from Metaphrog (John & Sandra). It was amazing to learn all about the creative process. Our audience included our EAL Book Group, and our own published graphic novelists now in S4, who had worked with John and Sandra previously. It felt like a lovely family reunion.
