Student Librarian Award

Year 11 student Thomas nominated for national school student librarian award

Wolverhampton Grammar School is delighted to celebrate the exceptional achievements of Year 11 student, Thomas, a finalist in the UK Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award 2025. This recognition is the culmination of, to date, seven years of tireless dedication by Thomas to the Jenyns Library, which he has supported since Year 5 with unwavering passion and commitment.

A tireless advocate for championing the Jenyns Library as the heartbeat of Wolverhampton Grammar School, Thomas has played an invaluable role in supporting Mrs Rowley, Head Librarian, and Mr McAllister, Librarian, to ensure that the library is a welcoming, inclusive and fun environment for members of our school community and beyond to enjoy. He has wholeheartedly embraced his many responsibilities, which include training and mentoring younger student librarians, creating bespoke book-themed displays and promoting the benefits of reading for pleasure. Thomas has discharged his duties with affability, efficacy and fastidiousness on a daily basis throughout his time at school, and he is an inspirational role model for all members of our community, who embodies perfectly the school’s altruistic ethos.

Thomas’s many achievements as a student librarian include: helping to conceive of, and organise, the Two Cities Book Award, the annual Young Adult fiction prize launched by King Edward’s School in Edgbaston and Wolverhampton Grammar School, in order to inspire more of his peers to read the very best in Young Adult books; directing videos shared on social media of school Book Club members recommending books for students of all ages to enjoy; and, most impressively of all,  playing an integral part in designing, installing and maintaining the Bennett Story Garden in order to promote literacy and wellbeing for children across Wolverhampton. For all of these and much more, Thomas is rightly the first ever Head Student Librarian at Wolverhampton Grammar School, and we are thrilled that his efforts have now been acknowledged nationally.

Accompanied by his mom, Mrs Rowley and Mr McAllister, Thomas attended the UK Pupil Library Assistant of the Year Award 2025 Final in London on Tuesday, 25th March, where he was championed by David Farr, the award-winning children’s author and two-time visitor to our school, who fittingly paid Thomas a fulsome tribute for all of his contributions to the Jenyns Library. Sadly, Thomas was not chosen as the UK Pupil Library Assistant of the Year; nevertheless, he rightly finds himself amongst the best eight student librarians in the country.

Thank you, Thomas, for all that you have done and continue to do for the Jenyns Library, and many congratulations on this well-deserved recognition – we are all incredibly proud of you!