Young people often find reading useful in helping them to improve their lives and to solve the problems that they face.  Whether a child reads for these reasons, to investigate a problem, to explore an issue or simply for pleasure, it impacts massively on their ability to learn effectively.

Year 7 and 8 students have been issued with ‘Artemis Fowl’ or another appropriate text selected by their English teacher. Some Year 7 students are reading ‘Fantastic Mr Fox.’ ‘The World’s Worst Children’ or ‘Quiet Power’ have been issued to Year 9 students. Year 10 students are reading a range of texts, including ‘Sea Fever’. ‘Coming Into the Country’, McPhee’s exciting exploration of Alaska, or ‘Mountains of the Mind’, Robert McFarlane’s exploration of science, literature, philosophy and man’s love of expeditions, have been issued to our Year 11 students.  Each week students will read these texts with their form tutor and will undertake work to help them to become more effective readers. This will culminate in a prize being awarded to a member of each year group in the summer term.

Years of research shows that a child who reads for pleasure will do better at school in all subjects. Please join us in our literacy drive by reading with your child.  Not only will it improve their capacity to learn, but your child will also benefit from an incredible shared experience. Parents and carers of our students at Key Stages Three and Four have been informed by letter of their child’s reading ages and asked to participate in the scheme.

A well as reading with their form tutor, your child will benefit from our whole school focus on literacy. In lessons and form time we have a main focus. So far we have worked at the use of the full stop and the comma. Next week we will focus on the question mark. All of this helps our students to develop literacy skills through work that makes cross-curricular links with other subjects. We work together in sustained and practical ways to help our students to acquire the discipline and skills necessary for high standards of literacy.

For further information, please contact me at the school. We would love to hear from you about your experiences in participating in this initiative.

L. Mcleod