Libraries

There are three libraries here at Dulwich College:

• The Junior School Library (Junior School Years 3 to 6)
• The Raymond Chandler Library (Lower School Years 7 & 8)
• The Wodehouse Library (Middle and Upper Schools Years 9 to 13)

Their principal objective is to contribute to all levels of academic attainment by giving all pupils equal access to appropriate and relevant information to support their studies.

We aim to:

• increase pupils’ confidence and competence in using information technologies to find and evaluate information from a range of sources;
• extend and develop pupils’ reading for pleasure by providing a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction;
• nurture independent learning skills and foster a desire for life-long learning;
• contribute to pupils’ social development by involving them in running the libraries and through participation in book related activities.

The Junior School Library

Situated in the centre of the Junior School, the library is at the heart of literacy and learning in Years 3 to 6. 

Staffed full-time, it is open for form and group visits throughout the school day from 8.30-5pm. Every Junior school form has a weekly library lesson choosing and discussing books, both fiction and non-fiction. 

The library is arranged on two floors. The mezzanine area houses an extensive up to date fiction collection, with comfortable places to read and browse books. Downstairs, the excellent non-fiction selection reflects the ever-evolving curriculum with seating for a whole class as well as a cosy ‘Non-fiction Book Nook’. 

The library is at the heart of many book-related events throughout the school year. An annual themed Book Week consists of Dressing-up day, whole school House Short Story competition, author visits and, workshops, charity events, teachers reading aloud in assemblies, puzzles and competitions and pupils having lunch with the authors.  Throughout the year we have an array of well-chosen wonderful author visits – with nine visits in total in 2025 - including Alexander Armstrong, David Baddiel, and Hamza Yassin. 

The Librarian runs four weekly popular bookclubs (one for each year group) for all pupils with many reading initiatives to encourage and maintain reading levels and Reading for Pleasure during the holidays which are well supported by pupils and families. 

The library is open every lunchtime and breaktime and is a hive of activity with pupils playing chess, Lego, reading, drawing or working on their latest comic strip. 

The Librarian is actively involved in the wider life of the Junior School taking part in a range of educational trips and activities and making an active contribution to curricular and co-curricular planning and delivery. 

The Raymond Chandler Library

The Raymond Chandler Library is solely for the use of the students in Year 7 and Year 8, and all of the approximately 8,000 books available to borrow are selected with this age group in mind. Students like to browse and read the wide selection of fiction and non-fiction books and reading lessons offer English teachers and librarians the opportunity to engage with and develop a life-long love of reading in each pupil.   

The award winning new library building offers a fantastic space for teachers to bring students during lesson time as well as for students to come in their free time before, during and after school. Besides reading, students love to play chess together and read our selection of magazines on topics ranging from sports to science. The library is also a social space to relax and chat with friends. 

Library book clubs provide a variety of activities, including quizzes and shadowing of book awards such as the Trinity Schools Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. We host the annual inter-school CWISL Quiz and also take part in the National Reading Champions competition. 

As well as reading for pleasure, boys follow our two stimulating reading schemes: Year 7 follow the Reading Wheel - an individual challenge rewarded with a completion certificate and a tie; whilst Year 8 read a mix of fiction and non-fiction across history, geography and culture as part of the Points of View scheme alongside their free reading choices. 

Librarians support the curriculum, including teaching how to use reference books and the wide selection of online e-Resources which the College subscribes to. These include Encyclopedia Britannica, The Day and Complete Issues. The library offers students use of computers and printing facilities with librarians ready to assist with any questions. 

The Library is the HQ for The Dulwich Despatch, the Lower School magazine, published twice a year and available to read online and printed. It is a popular platform for everything from pages of jokes to cutting edge political commentary. 

We regularly host visiting authors, who have recently included Jeffrey Boakye, Derek Landy and Benjamin Dean. Lower School boys enthusiastically contribute to The Children’s Book Project, one of the many boy-led charity events strengthening our place at the heart of the Lower School. 

The Wodehouse Library

The Wodehouse Library provides a comprehensive collection of more than 20,000 books that support wider academic background reading along with classic and contemporary literature. There is also an impressive range of periodicals and online resources collection that provides access to online journals and databases of academic articles and reference works. 

Reading for pleasure is encouraged and in collaboration with the English Department the Wodehouse offers the ‘42’ and ‘66’ reading lists, aimed at developing the reading habit through diverse and often challenging authors. Students in the Middle School can also complete their Reading Passports by reading from a broad range of fiction and non-fiction genres. 

As the students move through their GCSE years to A-level, the Wodehouse Library aims to nurture their independent learning skills. Having been introduced to our extensive range of online resources as part of project-based whole class library sessions in the Middle School, Upper School students in the Remove receive sessions in preparation for their extended essays, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and study at a higher level. 

Many students take the chance to be involved in the running of the Wodehouse Library as pupil librarians and the tasks they undertake give them some insight into how our library operates: participation is rewarded with the coveted Library Tie. The weekly Word of Mouth Book Group is a forum to swap peer to peer recommendations and more broadly talk about books with Library staff.