developments | NCEA Duke's Secondary School

Welcome to the next chapter – Where student curiosity and growth meet…

We are thrilled to officially announce the fantastic news regarding the improvements and developments made to Duke’s Library… We’ve had a major refresh!

With over 7,500 physical books and over 3,000 eBooks that can be translated into any language on our Dukes E Platform – making it an easily accessible and fantastic resource for multilingual students. We’re bringing in a scannable QR code which takes you straight to the login so it’s easily accessible on mobile phones and can be translated by the click of a button; ‘edit’. There’s also 500 loan books from the School’s Library Service that will go hand-in-hand with our new suggestion box, ensuring our collection continues to reflect students’ interests. Students can anonymously request books they’d like to see added to our shelves.

Meet our new Librarian

Our wonderful new school Librarian Mrs Bonham has been at the heart of these new developments – bringing passion, expertise and a fresh vision to the role. Going above and beyond, Mrs Bonham has carefully curated a diverse, up-to-date and engaging collection by keeping a close eye on popular trends through trusted sources like Waterstones, The Times and even ‘BookTok’, a large community on Tiktok popular with teens. The library is now a vibrant and welcoming hub for student discovery and growth. Whether you’re into fantasy, non-fiction, graphic novels or the latest viral reads – there’s bound to be something you’ll love!

Thanks to the hard work of Mrs Bonham and numerous donations from members of the community, including local groups Reduce Waste and Get Creative Community Hub, Ashington’s Everything Must Go and various people from Facebook – the library is fully stocked and raring to go.

Library Lessons

All Key Stage 3 students have a fortnightly library lesson and within these, Mrs Bonham will be leading small group reading sessions of up to 15 students at a time. The sessions are designed to give every child the opportunity to explore their interests, ask questions, discuss what they’re reading and receive personalised book recommendations tailored to their unique tastes and skill levels. Students don’t need to wait until their next scheduled session to return books or seek advice, Mrs Bonham is always happy to speak with them outside of lessons. The goal is to give every student time and space to connect with reading in a way that feels personal, exciting and most importantly enjoyable. The library is open over break and lunchtime as well for those students wishing to access the space outside of lessons.

Accelerated Reader Programme:

Year 7 students will be continuing with the Accelerated Reader programme that they are familiar with from Primary School. In support of the accelerated reader programme – a computer-based reading management system that helps schools encourage independent reading – the library books are now colour coded to represent different reading levels. Inside there will be a code, which will lead to a quiz about that particular book. There will be competitions, incentives for points gained and an awards programme to reward students for their developing reading skills. Accelerated Reader aims to foster a love of reading and to improve students literacy skills through a structured reading programme.

Thank you to all of the lovely parents who came to the opening of the Library.

We hope you enjoyed visiting the new and improved space for our students and enjoyed chatting with us about how we can best support your children together. For those who couldn’t make it and wish to visit us, you are invited to the Library on the 25th November between 3pm – 4pm to browse the book selection of our Scholastic Book Fair, which will also give you the opportunity to buy books, journals and stationary if you wish.