Smithdon High School celebrates JK Rowling's world of Harry Potter at second annual literary festival

Students at Smithdon High School celebrated the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling at its second annual literary festival as wizardry and Hogwarts came to Hunstanton.

Students arrived at school to find the library had been transformed into Diagon Alley, with all the delights of Hogsmeade on offer, from butter beer to chocolate frogs.

Activities took place in the art and science departments such as wand and potion making.

Amanda Wright, head of English at Smithdon, spearheaded the event and said: “We brainstormed ideas with the target that there would be something for everyone and activities every day.

"Marie Taylor, our librarian, was crucial to the event, because she sees trends in borrowing and can pitch ideas that interest the greatest number of students and Harry Potter is an example of this.

"It’s hard to believe that the series is over 20-years-old, and a number of our students are getting into the series having watched a film or two.

"Many of the teachers were in high school when the series first came out, so we have a range of Potterheads at Smithdon."

However, it wasn’t just Potter fans whose interests were covered at the week-long festival as would-be journalists in Year 9 enjoyed a ‘chase the story’ session with Norfolk journalist Chris Bishop, which led them all over the school in pursuit of a ‘hot’ lead.

Dr Claire Wilkinson from Cambridge University gave a lecture on poetry and art to the year group.

There was also a Year 7 and 8 visit from author Sue Upton, and budding novelists across Key Stage 3 were invited to take part in a 500-word short story competition.

The event also incorporated World Book Day, when students and staff alike dressed as their favourite fictional characters.

Ms Wright said: “World Book Day was the highlight of the festival.

"Staff and students dressed up as characters, and it’s always exciting to have discussions about who you’re dressed as and why you like the book this character came from.

"We want all students to love reading, and this opportunity highlights that reading is fun, especially when we can share the books we love.

"We know that students who read for pleasure have better academic outcomes and therefore life chances, so we want to demonstrate that while reading is something we do in school, it is also something that shapes us as human beings.

"We encourage reading all the time, and the Literary Festival is an event to celebrate reading in a loud and exciting way to bring books, reading and writing to life for our students."

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