For our dedicated Carnegie Shadowers, who’ve been reading furiously for the last three months, the Awards Ceremony provided the conclusion to this year’s events.

Along with groups from across the whole of the UK our readers gathered to watch the ceremony, streamed live from The British Library, where the winner of the Carnegie medal was announced.  Imagine their surprise when Bobby Seagull, the host of the awards, interviewed the Chair of the Judging Panel, Ellen Krajewski and she said one of the highlights of this year was visiting the shadowing group at Bushey Meads School and gave us a big “Hello Bushey Meads” !  Watch for yourself in the attached clip.

Now the whole country knows that students here at Bushey Meads love books!

The winner of this year’s Carnegie Medal, as voted by the panel of 14 judges, was Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds. This book is really popular within Bushey Meads; a number of Yr7 & 8 Library Studies classes have watched Jason talking about his inspiration for this book and the reason he chose to write it as ten short stories that provide an insight into the antics of children as they walk to and from school – the only unsupervised time within their day.

The award for the Shadowers’ Choice was a special delight as it was the book our talented group also chose as their favourite – Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann. Written in verse, it tells the story of a girl striving to rebel against an arranged marriage and controlling father, hoping also to rescue her mother and sister from this domestic prison. Amid her love for running – the only time she feels alive, school lessons about revolutions give Amber the strength to set herself free.

All the shortlisted books are now available for general loan from the school library, there is something for everyone – from traditional folklore to post-war Franco Spain. So come and collect one for a scintillating summer read!