“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the work and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life” Sidney Sheldon (1917-2997 American writer & producer)

We understand the benefits of regular reading for pleasure and how this contributes to literacy: bringing the benefits of increased academic achievement, job choice and satisfaction, positive professional and personal relationships, better health and happiness, and even a longer life. We provide a wide range of fiction suitable for the whole student body, and an increasing number of non-fiction texts aimed at our Accelerated Readers in KS3, and to support wider reading for our GCSE and A Level English groups.
We are continuously looking to invest in contemporary fiction, and there is a collection of new African-American, African-British and Asian-British literature, along with an ever increasing number of Reading for Wellness books, many of which are stored in our Pastoral Room. The Crypt also benefits from a digital reading platform, EPlatform (Wheelers), so pupils can access eBooks from their iPads or research materials online. Most subject-specific books are kept in departments but we do have The Economist and New Scientist available for general use. We do not restrict access to any books, except at the librarian’s discretion, unless a parent/carer has specifically requested us to do so (please see the Home-School agreement).

We have an Amazon Wish List which is regularly updated with books we would love in the library and if you have one of these books collecting dust, we would be delighted to give it a new home. If you would like to buy a book in honour of someone special in your life, we have bookplates to make sure their name is immortalised in The Crypt School library.  We are very grateful for the contributions already received this year - thank you.

Our library is, of course, far more than a collection of books and magazines. Many events are held to encourage reading and other literacy activities. These include author visits for World Book Day in March (most recently Christopher Edge in 2023, with Chris Bradford due in November); Read Aloud Day in February; Poetry Week, when our students read their own or their favourite poems, and Storytelling Week, when students share their own work. The library also links to events celebrated across the entire school such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day, and LGBTQ+ and Pride month in June.  Our librarian is also pivotal in organising visits to events outside school, such as to the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Clubs are held in the library to offer enrichment to the academic curriculum at The Crypt, including the student-led Year 7 Chatterbox and WhoDunIt? Club on Tuesday; lower school reading groups; Carnegie Shadowing for Years 9 to 11; upper school creative writing group; and a new sixth form book group facilitated by a parent with education and publishing expertise.

The library also offers many students a “safe space” when they’re outside lessons, with some choosing to come and read/work quietly at break or lunchtime or in our afterschool homework club.  The library provides leadership opportunities for students so they can learn library skills and work with our librarian to ensure the smooth running of the facility.  For some this can contribute towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Students are enrolled as librarians right from the start of Year 7 and some work here every week for most of their school life at The Crypt.

You can find our opening hours and the policy for borrowing and overdue books towards the bottom of this page.

Overdue and lost library book policy