It doesn't surprise me at all ...... I'm a lover of Tolkiens scribblings but some folks over here are absolute fanatics (do a search for The Tolkien Society).
Ah well, tis good to see that it's an "after hours" school activity......gods help us if it became a curriculum subject
Yup ...... when I was a lad at school the only extra-curricular activities were...
The Chess Club (not exactly my thing)
The Football Team (the school team was banned from the school league.....so yer never got a game anyway)
French Kissing a Tuba While Attempting to Get a Sound Out of the Damn Thing (commonly called the school band.......and banned is what they shoulda been).
So if it gets kids to pick up a book for fun......gotta be a good thing