Library refurbishment complete
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
In this, the National Year of Reading, pupils in the secondary phase now have a bright, airy and welcoming library to read, study and meet following the library's refurbishment.
The library is at the heart of The Westgate School and is a place where every pupil will spend time, whether that’s to borrow books, study, practise interviews for college or attend meetings. When the school was built in 1911, the space was originally the school hall used by the girls for gym lessons. It was only after new teaching spaces were added to the school site in the 1960s, that the hall was thoughtfully repurposed to create a library.
Since then, the library has continued to adapt to the needs of the pupils. Today the mezzanine area is filled with banks of computers; there has been a reduction in demand for reference books and a huge increase in requests for manga and fantasy.
This latest iteration has transformed the library from a much-loved but tired space into an oasis of calm. With freshly painted walls, new carpet, comfortable furniture and a huge forest-scene mural, it’s an area pupils can come to relax and lose themselves in a book. And, with the school becoming a smartphone free site from September, there are plenty of cosy nooks where pupils can play chess, study and gather, without the constant temptation of notifications or the lure of social media.
The school’s librarian Mrs Petherick said: “We're absolutely delighted with the newly refurbished library – it has brought a positive energy to the space, and I can sense a real appreciation amongst pupils (and colleagues!) of all the improvements. The moment the refurbishment was completed, we began to see an increase in library usage – long may it continue!”
This year is the National Year of Reading, with the Department for Education and National Literacy Trust helping people of all ages to discover the joy of reading and make it part of their everyday lives. Claire Fuller, Winchester’s internationally successful author who recently gave a talk to The Westgate School pupils about her path to becoming a writer said: “Reading a good book is the closest I can get to being inside someone else's head, and with that comes understanding and empathy.”
We are delighted with the pupils’ response to the new look library and would like to thank everyone in the school community who helped make it possible.
