Andrés R-G in Upper Sixth generously offered to run a bookbinding session for the library club. The pupils were incredibly enthusiastic about learning this traditional skill. Having prepared the necessary materials, Andrés guided all participants through the process, from choosing their bookcloth cover to reinforcing the spine with Mull to covering the bookboards to finally attaching the cover to the bookblock, showing each step carefully, enabling each student could produce something they were proud of. They also decorated the covers of their beautiful notebooks with Posca Pens to add a personal touch. By the end of the session, they had each created their own hardback notebook, proof of their new-found skills. Sophie was incredibly proud of her notebook, as was Seb, both of whom worked on it over two weeks to ensure the finished product was of good quality. The workshop was a huge success, with students thoroughly enjoying the chance to get creative. With such enthusiasm from the students, this is not the only occasion bookbinding will feature in the library club activities.
After the success of our initial session with pupils and the pride they took in their finished notebooks, our librarian decided to run a similar session for staff, promoting wellbeing in addition to being part of our World Book Day celebrations. Staff were able to choose their bookcloth colour – Mr Crook was making his as a gift so chose a lovely deep purple, Mr Williams chose a jazzy red crocodile print that was very striking. Some, like Miss O’Grady, added decorative endpapers to really give their book the wow factor. There was palpable concentration as they glued their spine board in, as everyone wanted their book to look lovely. Teachers are usually the ones explaining things to others but, for a short time, they got to be the student again and all said how much they enjoyed learning a new skill while engaging in a creative and relaxing activity. Looking at all the beautiful books produced, everyone was really impressed with the quality of their achievement and other teachers who couldn’t attend were eager to see if another session could be arranged. This workshop was a definite success and could perhaps be the start of a new World Book Day tradition.
