Our spacious library is well stocked with almost five thousand books (approximately 2,800 of which are fiction and 2,200 non-fiction) and with educational DVDs. The library stock is updated frequently and many boys spend their lunchtimes luxuriating on beanbags, reading their favourite books. Pupils are encouraged to become involved in the running of the library and stock updates are carried out regularly following pupils' suggestions. The media room adjoins the main library and is equipped with a suite of computers for boys to use for research, coding practice and prep.

The library and media room are also used during lessons across the curriculum. A ‘Reading Passport’ has been designed in-house to give pupils a visually interesting log for their reading, while encouraging them to read across a variety of styles and genres. Pupils fill in the ‘Reading Passport’ as they encounter, read and respond to these styles and genres. They are then awarded housepoints and their ‘Passport’ is stamped with a special stamp in the library, giving pupils a tangible sense of progress. While the Passport encourages pupils to read broadly, a ‘ladder’ system is used to help pupils progress confidently upwards in terms of encountering and mastering increasingly demanding literature. Every fiction book in the library is given an ‘L’ number, guiding pupils along their reading journey. They are monitored and encouraged to master a particular ‘L’ number, before moving up the ladder. Younger New College School boys also take part in the Accelerated Reader programme, using online databases and tests to aid their reading progression. 

We regularly welcome authors to visit the library and to address the boys on life as an author, and how to improve their own creative writing. Recent speakers have included Piers Torday, Joanna Trollope and Griselda Heppel, winner of the People’s Book Prize.

The Special Subject, for all boys in Years 7 and 8, is designed to advance independent learning and research skills. These boys are given some curriculum time to embark on a research project of their own choice (within reason!) using NCS’s library and ICT resources. While there is no compulsion for the boys to spend any extra time on these projects outside the classroom, they are warmly encouraged to choose a topic that interests them so much they just won’t be able to help themselves finding out more at lunchtimes or at home. Topics in the past have ranged from the crisis in the Middle East to the career of Leonardo da Vinci, from early modern philosophy to the science behind laughter. The boys are given a whole year to work on their projects, aiming to complete the best mini-thesis, so they are awarded The Warden’s Medal at the end-of-year Prizegiving. In Year 8, the boys also develop their communication skills by  delivering their findings in a TED-talk-style presentation.