Students and staff at Derwen College marked World Book Day with activities designed to celebrate reading and show how it plays a part in learning, fun and everyday life across all our campuses and pathways.
A highlight of the day, at Gobowen campus, was an interactive Escape Room created by our functional skills team. Students were challenged to follow written clues, solve puzzles and uncover hidden messages in order to escape from Professor Bradbury’s Office.
Armed with an ultraviolet torch, they searched for secret messages and pieced together clues. The final puzzle revealed the message ‘Reading Opens Doors’, and students celebrated as they solved the challenge and successfully escaped. Student George, who is on our Learning for Life pathway, said: “Wow, I love that, so good” after he solved the clues and ‘escaped’.
Students at Telford campus shared their favourite books with their peers.
Creative Story Competition
Students are also being encouraged to get imaginative through a college‑wide story competition. Entries can be written, illustrated, spoken or recorded on video – giving everyone the chance to tell a story in a way that suits them best. All entries will be judged by local poet and College industry champion Jan Hedger.
National Year of Reading
This year’s World Book Day activities link closely with the College’s support and activities for National Year of Reading – a major UK wide initiative led by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust, with Queen Camilla as Ambassador. The campaign encourages everyone to ‘Go All In’ on reading to help tackle the national decline in reading enjoyment and highlight the essential role literacy plays in learning, work and daily life.
Year of Reading is a reminder that reading happens across College every single day – whether it is reading a recipe in the kitchen, following plant care instructions in the Garden Centre, learning lines for a performance, or checking labels in the Marketplace shops. Reading takes many forms, and staff across all pathways help students build skills and confidence in ways that feel meaningful and practical.
We also run a wide range of reading‑for‑pleasure initiatives throughout the year, and World Book Day offered the perfect opportunity to bring these together and celebrate students’ enthusiasm and progress.
