Reading is a fundamental skill that supports learning across every subject. It helps students build vocabulary, develop critical thinking, and improve their ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Beyond academics, reading encourages empathy and imagination by allowing students to experience different perspectives, cultures, and ideas. Whether through fiction or nonfiction, books can inspire curiosity and a lifelong love of learning.

In schools, reading plays a vital role in shaping confident, informed and thoughtful individuals. Access to a wide range of texts helps students engage with important social issues; expand their worldviews and reflect on their own experiences. By creating a reading-rich environment and encouraging regular reading habits, schools not only support academic achievement but also promote emotional and personal growth. Reading isn’t just a skill to master—it’s a doorway to understanding the world and ourselves.

With this in mind, this academic year 2026-27, we will have one form time reading session per week in Y7-10 as follows:

Year 7 and Year 9 – Form Tutors will read a short text with their form group per week. These short texts may take the form of song lyrics, extracts from plays, as well as fiction and non-fiction texts. The form tutor will read aloud, modelling good fluency and prosody, with students choral reading some sections and discussing vocabulary. Students will then complete an activity based on their reading.

Year 8 and Year 10 – Form Tutors will read at least one book with their forms across the year, modelling how we can read for pleasure whilst learning about the world and human behaviour.

Yr11 – reading time in form groups will run in Autumn 1 only. These sessions will have a revision focus, using GCSE-linked texts provided by the English department, for students to work through. The form tutor will read aloud, modelling good fluency and prosody, with students choral reading complex sections and discussing vocabulary. Students will then complete an activity based on their reading.

KS5 students will continue to follow the DEAR programme organised by Sixth Form staff.

All of the text choices aim to both engage and empower young readers during a time of significant personal growth and self-discovery. They are designed to reflect the experiences, challenges and emotions that teenagers often face—such as identity, friendship, family, well-being, and social issues—while also encouraging empathy, resilience and critical thinking. Whether through realistic stories, fantasy worlds or historical settings, these extracts and books will help our students explore who they are and where they fit in the world. Our aim is for these books to inspire, inform and provide a safe space for reflection and connection.

KS5 students will continue to follow the DEAR programme organised by Sixth Form staff.

All of these titles aim to both engage and empower young readers during a time of significant personal growth and self-discovery. They are designed to reflect the experiences, challenges, and emotions that teenagers often face—such as identity, friendship, family, well-being, and social issues—while also encouraging empathy, resilience, and critical thinking. Whether through realistic stories, fantasy worlds, or historical settings, these books help our students explore who they are and where they fit in the world. Our aim is for these books to inspire, inform, and provide a safe space for reflection and connection.