8
Aluredian
thorough and workmanlike. There was no
dedicated librarian and the whole thing was
kept ticking over by a passionate but inevitably
overstretched member of the teaching staff.
I had seen what a positive change a new
library could make to the lives of pupils in my
previous school and decided this would be our
first major development at King's. Luckily, an
alumnus of the school, Philip Richards, shared
my vision and offered to pay for it; a gesture of
rare and breathtaking generosity. We drew up
plans and started work on the new Philip
Richards Building last year. The centre
includes IT suites, Business Education Faculty
and a Careers Department. But at its heart is
a large, bright, airy library, right at the centre of
the school, with stunning views over the whole
campus.
I knew that the facility itself would be only half
the story, the other half being the employment
of an inspirational librarian. Josephine Barclay
joined us before the first brick had been laid
and began to knock the existing book collection
into shape, and, most importantly, to involve
our pupils in planning the new library. She has
already made a huge difference to the reading
habits of the school. The enticing displays of
new material have encouraged more pupils
than ever before to borrow books; her book
clubs have provided forums for animated
discussion. As is often the way with these
things, the building work went down to the
wire, and the opening was a genuine one - the
boys and girls had not seen the new building
until we showed them around after the opening
ceremony.
Why a library? Why books? We are still a
very, very long way from the demise of the
book in its traditional form. It remains an
extraordinarily effective and practical tool for
learning. It is in so many ways more
convenient to use than any machine. There is,
too, a tactile presence and weight and
reassurance about a book that undoubtedly
appeals, even to children. Our pupils can now
walk into a large, modern space, into a world
of colour and pattern, with exciting new books
on display, with a knowledgeable, welcoming
and encouraging adult presence behind the
desk ready to suggest and to inspire. They are
able to take down a book from a shelf and sit
A
t a time when local councils
are shutting libraries down
at an alarming rate, King's
College is bucking the trend,
and on Saturday 14th May
2011, bestselling author
Tom Holland opened our brand new, 15,000book
library. I am certain of the rightness of
this move and I have no doubt at all about the
impact our new facility has already had on the
academic lives of our pupils.
When I arrived as Headmaster four years ago
I found that what library there was had been
relegated to nomadic status at one end of our
Woodard Room, mounted on wheeled shelves
and moved to the side whenever the room was
needed for social functions or lectures or
dinners (which was often). The collection was
not bad, a little dog-eared and neglected, but
The Philip
Richards
Building
by Richard
Biggs,
Headmaster