Learning Resource Centre

Learning Resource Centre

The Learning Resource Centre holds over 24,000 resources, both paper and electronic, to support the educational and recreational needs of the pupils at St Nicholas Catholic High School. These include:

Fiction: The pupils are involved in the stock selection which ensures the purchase of up-to-date fiction to promote reading for pleasure to all levels of reading interest and ability.
Non-Fiction: Knowledge of the curriculum ensures a comprehensive collection of Non-Fiction to support all areas of study within the school

  • Current affairs and special interest magazines
  • GCSE and A-Level journals
  • Daily papers: The Times
  • Access to the Times archive
  • Online journal subscriptions
  • ICT: The LRC houses 25 laptops.

Information Literacy

“Knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner” (CILIP, 2004)

We believe that, in order to become independent learners, it is vital that pupils develop information skills. The definition of information literacy above requires an understanding of:

  • A need for information
  • The resources available
  • How to find information
  • The need to evaluate results
  • How to work with or exploit results
  • Ethics and responsibility of use
  • How to communicate or share your findings How to manage your findings (CILIP, 2011)

We aim to support pupils in developing these skills through:

  • Bi-weekly information literacy lessons for year 7
  • Information and study skills sessions for sixth form pupils
  • Promotion of the use of Eclipse, our online library catalogue
  • Working with teachers across the curriculum to promote the use of LRC resources during lessons and for independent research assignments

Reading for Pleasure

The LRC strives to promote reading for pleasure across the school by:

  • Planning events such as World Book Day, author visits, Carnegie Shadowing, Cheshire Schools’ Book Award
  • Establishing reading groups to give pupils opportunities to discuss books and to encourage pupils to stretch their reading habits
  • Promoting national writing and reading competitions
  • Entering and tutoring pupils for the Cheshire School’s Book Quiz
  • Involving pupils in stock selection to give them a sense of involvement with the LRC and to ensure the purchase of resources which promote reading for pleasure to all levels of reading interest and ability
  • Providing an interactive platform, via the LRC’s online cataloguing system, for pupils to read, write and publish book reviews
  • Compiling suggested reading lists for departments to issue to pupils
  • Operating a rewards system for pupils who take part in reading and writing activities.
  • Working with the English department to promote new stock during lessons to encourage wider reading.
  • Advising pupils, parents and teachers on suitable reading material