Burgess Hill twins co-host new online book club for teenagers

Students at a Burgess Hill school have taken the lead presenting and interview roles in BookSmart, a new video book series for teenage girls.
Amelie and Madison, co-hosts of Booksmart SUS-210520-135954001Amelie and Madison, co-hosts of Booksmart SUS-210520-135954001
Amelie and Madison, co-hosts of Booksmart SUS-210520-135954001

Since 2020, Burgess Hill Girls has been publishing lists of recommended reads for the whole school community, along with video readings of their favourite children’s books accompanied by illustrations from pupils.

The latest initiative is BookSmart, a video book series for teenage girls with content created and delivered by students.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Each month a new episode of BookSmart is broadcast on the school’s YouTube channel.

The series is co-presented by twins Madison and Amelie, who also interview a young adult (YA) fiction author each month.

Amelie and Madison said: “BookSmart allows us to share our passion for books with readers everywhere.

“It is also a unique opportunity to meet our favourite authors and delve into our favourite books with the people that have created them.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Authors to have featured in the first few episodes include Sophie McKenzie, Patrice Lawrence, and Sara Barnard.

Viewers also get a chance to win a book by the featured author through commenting on the video.

Finally, other students from Burgess Hill Girls give their personal recommendations on books for viewers to read.

For all the girls involved it has been a highly rewarding experience:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The girls are currently filming for episode four which will feature the usual book recommendations and an interview with author Sally Gardner.

Helping the girls to create the monthly episodes are Amber Balman, media officer, and Yve Akehurst, learning resource centre manager.

Yve said: “The early teenage years can be a time when girls lose interest in reading for pleasure in favour of social media.

“So, we thought we would share our love of reading YA fiction in the same space.”

To find out more, visit https://burgesshillgirls.com/school-life/learning-resource-centre/booksmart