News

III LitFest 2026

Our III Festival of Literature at Mayfield School Library took place between the 5^th and the 15^th of May 2026, and included an array of events, competitions and challenges to celebrate all our reading heroes and their achievements at Mayfield school! But we also aimed to inspire the more reluctant ones to experience a more fun and didactic approach to the fascinating world of books, and the lifelong perks of reading! And what a buzz was created, through exciting initiatives, challenges, awards and surprises!

On World Book Day 2026, a new Reading Challenge was announced: The Book Bingo. Students were encouraged to read books and complete lines of their Bingo. For each line completed, they received a small prize with a number for the prize draw, and 2 APs. The challenged lasted until the last day of the Festival, where all entrants were invited to the Library for the big Prize Draw. It pleased us to say that this was a huge success, with over 250 prizes/Aps/numbers awarded, and lots of Bingos handed in. The lucky winners of the Prize Draw were: Hafsah A. (8M9), Sabeen S. (9M9) and Habiba A (8M1). Well done and congratulations to all students for your contagious enthusiasm around books and the Library!

The Festival was launched on the 5^th of May, with a brand new challenge called “Murder by the book”, where students were invited to team up with a group of friends (or “detectives”) to find out who killed the Librarian, why and how. The clues, the evidence and the police reports were displayed around the crime scene in the Library, and the teams would have to cross reference, discuss with their peers, and produce a comprehensive report until the 15^th of May.

A judge panel would assess all detective reports, and the most complete one would win the challenge. This was a fun way of exercising literacy, through reading, interpreting, debating, and writing. Congratulations to the winning team: The Gladiator Mindsetters – Advik K. (8M9), Nikhil J. (8M5), and Arif A. (8M9), as according to the judging panel the quality of their written report excelled in quality and detail. But judging wasn’t an easy task, as we’ve received excellent writing pieces from most teams. What a successful challenge this was, as the feedback from students was quite enthusiastic! 

Thursday, 7^th of May, marked the day to celebrate our Reading Heroes! These are students who have excelled in reading and writing this academic year in the Library. Pupils were invited to come to the Library at lunch break, but remained unaware of the purpose of this invite. It was extremely gratifying to see how proud they were of their attainments, as a sense of fulfilment sparked as soon as we called their names. On this special occasion, we announced the winners of the Spring Poetry Competition – Zoya H. (10M7), and the Six-Word Story Challenge (launched on WBD 2026) – Hayley M. (10M8). We have also announced the top 5 readers: Dragos A. (9M7), Zahraa A. (9M5), Navya S. (11M4), Hafsah A. (8M9) and Sabeen S. (9M9).

The awards included a Certificate, signed books, a “Reading Champion” badge, and, as always, achievement points. Well done, everyone, and thank you for being such an inspiration to other students!

On Wednesday, 13^th of May, our Library Ambassadors hosted the second edition of The Reading Games in the Library. Pupils registered their team and were challenged to complete book-related tasks, such as riddles, code breakers, quizzes, puzzles, Chinese whispers, and story writing, etc. It was extremely fun, everyone had a blast, and students insisted that we should do this more often! In the end, everyone cheered the winners, and all teams were awarded a bag with reading goodies to enjoy! Saimah, Nusaybah and Sakina, 7M3, were the winning team, as they were the ones completing most tasks – but everyone was a winner! Congratulations to all!

Our Pupil Librarian Awards took place on Thursday, 14^th of May, with a very special guest announcing the winners (aren’t they all, really?) of the Shelfie Challenge: Mr. Iafrate, our Headteacher. The Pupil Librarians are a group of enthusiastic and resilient students, who positively contribute to the daily (hectic) life of the Library. The Shelfie Challenge is a fun factor added to their tasks, launched on World Book Day 2026, and consists of organising, displaying and promoting their allocated section/genre in the Library, aiming to vitalise the shelves, bring books to life, and inspire other students to a wide range of reading recommendations. Over the course of the challenge, Library Ambassadors and teachers were invited to cast their vote on their favourite(s) sections. The results reflect how hard all the teams worked, making it difficult for us to discern the winners. Fantasy won, Mystery/Crime/Thriller were runners-up, and Dystopian, Romance, Historical, and Sports followed.

Congratulations to all for your contribution to the Library and inspiring reading for pleasure at Mayfield school. In our Library Newsletter “Mayfield Voice”, we will have extended reports, interviews, stories, poems, photos and other LitFest linked events. Our wholehearted appreciation to all students and staff who supported, assisted, promoted and engaged all (or some) LitFest events. A special token of gratitude to Mr Black, Mr Howard, the Library Ambassadors and the Pupil Librarians for making Mayfield Library a welcoming and vibrant place, full of stories, life and love.

Miss Ferreira