Following the difficult decision, taken after the Covid 19 pandemic, to no longer continue visiting Old Sodbury school as part of the “Open the Book” scheme, we were delighted when a new team of volunteers re-established the link and began bringing Bible stories to enthusiastic pupils at the school.

More details will follow shortly, but in the meantime, here is an opportunity to look back on the history of Open the Book in our village:

An enthusiastic group of volunteers started regular visits to Old Sodbury School in September 2006. This Open the Book team were Karen Hunter, Sandi Hardwick, Tracy Philpott and Liz Wray. More volunteers joined the team at the school assemblies until March 2020 when the Covid 19 pandemic meant that we were unable to continue and it was decided to close. In 2021 the team of Karen Hunter, Sue Leah, Jean Bennett and Joy Fussell celebrated their fifteen very rewarding and enjoyable years of sharing Bible stories with the children at the school. We were always given a warm welcome by the Staff and pupils. The children were very keen to help us dramatise the bible stories to give a meaningful and memorable message in their assembly.

The “Open the Book” scheme enables every child to hear stories from the Bible in their primary years and our team were proud to have had this opportunity for many years in Old Sodbury. In 2013 “Open the Book” became part of “The Bible Society” and continues to grow with over 17,000 volunteers all over England and Wales visiting more than 2,200 schools. We were pleased to hand our costumes and resources to a team in Portishead who visit several schools with a large team of “Open the Book” volunteers. We wish them and teams across the country success and joy in presenting bible stories that will enrich children’s lives.