Comic Masterclass with Kev. F. Sutherland
10th October, 2011
The first of two events that marked the closing weeks of a very successful and enjoyable first half-term, the library was host to the flamboyant stylings of professional comic artist and comedian, Kev F. Sutherland. Kev, a veteran artist of “The Beano” and numerous other publications, ran two masterclass workshops for scholars, providing professional tips on comic artistry and step-by-step guidance from initial character creation to the finishings of a dynamic graphical story. Kev’s key message was that, with a bit of guidance (and the foundation of good technique: a bit of copying), anyone can create comics. Scholars, despite initial doubts, certainly rose to the challenge, each designing their very own comic character and a professionally inked comic strip. By the end of the day, each walked away with a copy of the unique comic book collecting their fantastic finished work, a caricature of themselves drawn by Kev himself, and, hopefully, a greater (and, certainly, well-founded) belief in their flourishing creative ability.
Classical Myths with Xanthe Gresham
12th October, 2011
The second visit of the Library’s Michaelmas event week was by Storyteller, Xanthe Gresham, who worked with scholars from the Classics department in the performance of a selection of myths and legends from the Classical world. Through interactive storytelling, Xanthe surprised, entertained and captivated audiences of all year groups, weaving together myths of Greece and Rome with other tales of folklore. From the violence and promiscuity of the Lapiths and the Centaurs to the nail-biting finish of Pelops’ & Oinomaos’ deadly chariot race, scholars and staff were given a provocative taste of the world of the ancients and reminded that their stories contained all the action, intrigue and wild imagination of anything produced today.
Michaelmas Reading Challenge 2011: 3 Books for Christmas
7th November – 16th December, 2011
To highlight the pleasures and benefits of reading and the diverse worlds contained in books, this half-term, the Library has challenged all scholars and all staff to read 3 Books (or more) by Christmas break. These can be any 3 books - from the library, from home, wherever. All challengers need to do is, after finishing a book this half-term, to fill in a postcard with their name, house and a short account of what they thought was the book’s best bit and get it back to the library. Rewarding scholars effort (beyond, of course, the many benefits to mind and body gained from reading), prizes will include a mini-feast of deliciously unhealthy treats to go to the House with the most successful challengers and a selection of Amazon gift vouchers, which all successful challengers will have a chance to win in our end of term prize draw. There are books out there for everyone; for help in finding them, visit your school library now.