The Beacon Book Club: Back to School

Join us for the first meeting of The Beacon Book Club on 26 September 2024!

The Beacon Book club will be an informal, friendly group of likeminded people who want to share their passion for reading and to discover new favourite books and make new friends.

Most of the suggested reading can be found at or ordered through the Cumberland Library Service as print books, e-books or audiobooks but we also encourage you to take the theme and browse through the library shelves, charity shops and independent booksellers to find something unexpected.

September’s Suggested Reading List: “Back to School”.

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf

An easy-reader, part illustrated book, available from Cumberland Libraries.

The modern-day story of Ahmet, a Refugee child from Syria, told through the eyes of his Primary School Classmates, but reflecting through their voices the attitudes and prejudices of the adults that surround them. A thought-provoking read for any adult.

Class War – A Teacher’s Diary by Anonymous Author.

Explicit Content. Available from Cumberland Libraries.

Real-life, daily reflections of current Secondary School teaching practices. An often humorous but bleakly devastating analysis of the daily grind of Curriculum-led, tick-box Teaching as opposed to imparting the Joy of Learning to reluctant teens.  A book well worth reading for teachers, academics – and all parents and guardians of children.

Everything All at Once by Steve Camden.

Collection of Spoken Word Poems. Available from Cumberland Libraries.

Simple yet beautifully textured words telling the stories of life, love and learning as young boys and girls make their way through Senior school. Every page reflects the thoughts and emotions of un-named students and their troubled minds – set in today’s world, but totally relatable to anyone that ever went to school, no matter how long ago.

School-Days of Eminent Men by John Tims, FSA.

Published 1885. Available as low-cost eBook on Amazon / Kindle.

An absolutely fascinating transcription from the original. Written in the Old English style of its time, and a little ‘glitchy’ in places, it is well worth spending a little time to adjust as it peels back the Centuries to reveal the real history of teaching and the development – much later than you might think – of the concept of School in the UK.  A real eye-opener.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

Book available from Cumberland Libraries: 1969 Film version starring Maggie Smith available on DVD, recent TV Series on Prime Video.

This Classic novel, written in 1961 but set broadly in 1930’s Scotland, remains one of the top 100 English Novels of the 20^th Century. The story of Miss Brodie’s somewhat quirky approach to Schooling, and evidence of its unforeseen outcomes, is a joyful read that encourages us to reflect on the role of our own school-day experiences and their influence on how we personally perceive the world today.