World Book Day fun celebrates £3,000 boost to Suburb school’s new library fund

Pupils had twice the reason to celebrate on World Book Day after raising more than £3,000 for a new school library.

Schoolgirls at Henrietta Barnett School in Hampstead Garden Suburb read as many books as they could last month as part of a school-wide readathon to support a fundraising campaign to extend and refurbish the school’s library.

Prizes were awarded on Thursday to pupils who raised the most money through sponsorship, including Year 8 pupil Gwynnevere Suter, who raised about £450.

The prizegiving formed part of a fashion parade of the best literary costumes worn by pupils and teachers for World Book Day.

Characters roaming the school corridors included 101 Dalmations villain Cruella de Vil, spider Charlotte from children’s classic Charlotte’s Web and Katniss Everdeen from popular young adult trilogy The Hunger Games.

Money raised from the readathon will equip the new library with new books. Works are due to start over the summer holidays.

Head of English Eve Meyers-Belkin, who organised the school readathon with librarian Ilana Lucas, said: “Raising money by reading to make reading more comfortable seemed like a good idea.

She added: “We thought it would be a good idea to involve people but in a meaningful way.”