Our Library
Sacred Heart's expansive library houses over 7000 books, including fiction, foreign-language texts, graphic novels, specialist textbooks, and more. We also have a collection of eBooks and DVDs for student use. Our catalogue is continually updated with new releases and re-issues of classic texts and students can request books to be bought for the library.
Year 7s receive a library induction when they first join the school where they learn how to access library resources, borrow books and how library cataloguing works. In Year 12, our students attend a specialist workshop in essay citation, research skills, and plagiarism, preparing them in what to expect from university libraries and academic essay formatting. To this end, we also have a collection of specialist research databases for sixth formers, to help them conduct research for coursework.
Library Catalogue
You can browse our library catalogue from home by clicking this link: https://sacredhearthigh.oliverasp.co.uk/library/home/news
Our Library Clubs (2023-24)
We have a dynamic collection of clubs that meet during lunch and after school, co-facilitated by students of all years, including
- Year 10 Book club (Mondays, 1.10-1.50pm)
- Writing Club (Wednesdays, 3.00-4.00pm)
- Journaling Club (Thursdays, 3.10 - 4.00pm)
- Anti-Bullying Drop In Clinic (Thursdays 10.50-11.10am)
- School Magazine Club, Y10-13 (Tuesdays, 3pm-3.45pm)
These clubs run alongside our frequent creative writing competitions, reading drives, and free book initiatives. We also have a group of enthusiastic library volunteers who assist in shelving, creating displays, and cataloguing books.
Our vision statement
The Library sits at the heart of the school community as a hub of creativity and intellectual curiosity.
The Library fosters a community of learning and literacy that leads to high academic achievement, independent reading and learning, and a culture of collaboration throughout the school.
We aim to be:
- a stimulating learning centre that promotes a culture of creativity and literary enjoyment throughout the school.
- a safe, secure and inclusive environment that values each pupil’s individual development and learning styles, and provides learning spaces which are reflective of students’ needs.
- a learning environment that develops students’ independent information literacy and works to ensure that all students are confident and effective users of ideas and information.
We aim to provide:
- an evolving bank of resources that support teaching and learning in all areas of the curriculum, which can be easily accessed from home and other areas of the school by students, staff and parents.
- a diverse collection of fiction texts that will capture the imagination of our students and encourage them to appreciate other cultures, experiences and perspectives.
- a broad selection of non-fiction resources that will encourage students to investigate the world around them, ask questions, explore ideas and develop their knowledge and understanding.
- a state of the art service that will satisfy the 21st century learning and literary needs of students, by recognising how they engage with information and data and offering suitable resources and facilities.
- support in the teaching of literacy, independent learning skills, and cross-curricular study skills.