At Waldegrave School, students are appalled at new rota put in place in response to 'overbooked' library. A haven for quiet study, the library offers educational resources and computers for revision and homework. Now the help it offers is limited. Each year group's access is restricted to 2 or 3 days a week, and although the principle may seem like a good method to counteract overcrowding, it means that some students are actively kicked out. Many students have spoken out against this. 

One student in particular, Mena Tapp, an avid reader and hardworking academic, has voiced her opinion on the new library policy. As of yet, there has been no response. She shared her views, expressing that the new ruling made her feel 'overwhelmingly upset', and that the seemingly counterproductive rota made studying increasingly difficult because 'we don't have a form room we can go to at lunch, and everywhere else is either noisy or freezing, so it's really irritating to have days when you're barred from entering the library.'

One encounter with a library supervisor left a group of year 10 students speechless- while completing assignments on one of the 3 empty tables, the group were asked to leave because it 'wasn't their day'. The supervisor's unjustified actions were accompanied with a meagre 'I'm really sorry', despite there being the option of letting the pupils continue on with their work in the nearly empty libarary.

And so, the library continues to run under these regulations with no signs of any changes occurring. The students of Waldegrave won't be deterred, and with small acts of defiance like pupils using the library on days that aren't theirs, it proves yet again that nothing will stop girls from getting the education they deserve.

Hannah Kent

Waldegrave School