In this latest post from our new series, we learn more about the name behind the Rydal Penrhos Prep library and how the space encourages children to develop a love of reading.
Reading is an essential part of a child’s education; a skill that plays an important factor in any academic pursuit, at any age. While it would be easy to think that reading skills and their impact are felt most in Rydal Penrhos’ more language-heavy subjects like English, Spanish and History, the reality is that strong literacy plays a vital role across all areas of study. Indeed, it has been shown that if a child does not have a reading age of sixteen by the time they sit their GCSEs, their results suffer across the board.
For this reason, Rydal Penrhos places primary importance on developing pupils’ reading and writing. Despite the growth of digital learning resources, Rydal Penrhos will never forget the importance of physical books and their potential to supercharge a child’s cognitive development. The power of literature to inspire imagination, creativity and joy in pupils, something will stay with them as they navigate their later life, is something any good school should cherish.
A child’s years at the Prep are incredibly important with regards to literacy skills, as it is the stage where they can get a head start academically by developing a close relationship with the written word. Various parts of a Rydal Penrhos Prep education are designed to boost pupils’ reading and writing, whether that is something as simple as form tutors and their tutees discussing books in form time, to more all-encompassing programs such as the Accelerated Reader, which allows parents and teachers alike to track pupils’ understanding and comprehension of the books they read.
While these initiatives are important, the vital role of a fantastic library space cannot be overlooked. Thankfully, the Prep’s Library is one of its standout features. It was reopened as ‘The Lyndon Library’ in the early 2010s as a means of commemorating the legacy of Lyndon School, a Colwyn Bay primary school which merged with Rydal Penrhos’ Preparatory School in 2003 and moved onto the Pwllycrochan site.
The Lyndon Library’s position at the heart of the Prep, sitting adjacent to the entrance to Prep Reception, emphasizes its importance in Prep life day-to-day. The library provides a choice of hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books of various eras and genres for pupils to enjoy both in school and at home. A light and airy open space with large windows overlooking the playground, the Lyndon Library also serves as a fantastic space for classes to use for activities that might require more space to spread out.
The Lyndon Library is also notable in that it houses an example of the stunning stained glass windows from Penrhos College’s Chapel, which were preserved and rehomed following the merger of the girls’ school onto Rydal’s site in the late 1990s. The vibrant colours and shapes of the window form only a small part of the overall beauty of the Lyndon Library, which has proven a very happy place of gathering for both pupils during lesson time and parents on a Friday morning as they catch up before Celebration Assembly.
With World Book Day fast approaching on Thursday 2 March, Prep pupils are lucky to have a fantastic space to celebrate the wonder and joy that the printed word can bring!
