Literacy

‘We celebrate our reading culture as a school community. An environment where reading is championed, valued, respected, and encouraged. Reading lies at the heart of the curriculum, and it’s of the upmost importance to a child’s personal, social, and academic success, as well as their general wellbeing.’

(Hannah Hawthorne, 2021)

 

Research shows that reading helps to improve vocabulary, communication skills and makes us better writers. We all need these skills in life and in our workplace. The increase in screen-time and social media has been shown to have decreased our focus and concentration levels as people are so used to flicking between apps and scrolling through various websites. Reading can help counter this by providing one thing to focus on.

Did you know that research shows children who read for pleasure achieve better, regardless of whether their reading material of choice is a novel or magazine? Please do encourage your child to read a variety of texts that they are interested in.

Did you know research shows that a child who reads/is read to for 5 minutes a day will be exposed to around 400,000 words a year? Increasing that to 21 minutes exposes them to 1,823,000 words a year. 40 minutes results in 3,646,000 words a year.

Benefits

  • Vocabulary
  • Understanding of grammar
  • Spelling skill
  • Writing attainment
  • Attitudes to reading and writing
  • Knowledge and understanding of the world and other people
  • Achievement in other subjects, including maths
  • Empathy and understanding of emotions
  • Development of our sense of 'self' and identity

Form Time Shared Reading

      

  

We have put together some fantastic reading for your son to select from. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it shows the array of books available to choose from.

Please see below for our recommended reading list.

Recommended Reads for Year 7, 8 and 9

Action & Thrillers

Bodyguard or Young Samurai (& sequels); Bullet Catcher or Gamer by Chris Bradford

Alone by DJ Brazier

Mortal Chaos, Speed Freaks, The Everest Files (& sequels) or Lie, Kill, Walk Away - Matt Dickinson

Lightning Girl (& sequels) by Alesha Dixon

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Silverfin or The Enemy (& sequels) by C Higson

Stormbreaker (& sequels) by A. Horowitz

 

Dystopian /Science Fiction

Ink (& sequels) by Alice Broadway

Gone or BRZK (& sequels) -Michael Grant

The Boy Who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock

The Giver and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

The Knife of Never Letting Go (& sequels)-P Ness

MetaWars: Fight for the Future (&sequels)- Norton

 

Fantasy, Magic Realism, Horror & Ghost

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

The House With Chicken Legs & The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

Mind Writer by Steve Cole

Artemis Fowl (& sequels) by Eoin Colfer

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

 

Sports

Booked, Crossover or Rebound – K. Alexander

Charlie Merrick’s Misfits… by David Cousins

Stat Man by Alan Durant

The Stormkeeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle

Rumblestar by Abi Elphinstone

Who Let the Gods Out (& sequels) by Maz Evans

Ranger’s Apprentice or Brotherband - J Flanagan

Inkheart (& sequels) by Cornelia Funke

War, Conflict and the Refugee Experience

Soldier Dog or A Horse Called Hero - Sam Angus

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by J Boyne

Illegal by Eoin Colfer

Wolf Children, Red Shadow, Eleven Eleven,  Auslander & True Stories books – Paul Dowswell

Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott

Boy 87 by Ele Fountain

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillion

Once (& sequels) by Morris Gleitzman

Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay

Grenade by Alan Gratz

Recommended Reads for Year 10, 11 and 12

Action, Mysteries, Horror & Thrillers

Famous Last Words or Bad Girls Don’t Die– Alender

Bodyguard: Hostage (& sequels) by Chris Bradford*

Dead Time (& sequels), Getting Away With It or The Bone Room by Anne Cassidy*

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Say Her Name by Juno Dawson

Mortal Chaos, Speed Freaks, The Everest Files or Lie, Kill, Walk Away by Matt Dickinson*

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly

 

Autobiographies/Memoirs/Biographies

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Album

I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings by M. Angelou

A Street Cat Named Bob* by James Bowen

Playing the Enemy by John Carlin

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Nothing to Envy (North Korea) by B Demick

Hope in a Ballet Shoe: Michaela & Elaine DePrince

 

Dystopian, Science Fiction or Magic Realism

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

The Testaments or The Handmaid’s Tale – Atwood

Ink (& sequels) by Alice Broadway*

iBoy by Kevin Brooks*

World War Z by Max Brooks

The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey

City of Bones (& sequels) by Cassandra Clare

Matched (& sequels) by Ally Condie

 

Classics / Modern Literature

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie

Pride and Prejudice or Emma by Jane Austen

Fahrenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Great Expectations or Oliver Twist by C Dickens

 

Complex/Difficult/Thought-provoking Issues

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Stone Cold by Robert Swindells*

Anita and Me by Meera Syal

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

Somebody Give This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur

The Hate U Give or On the Come Up by A Thomas*

The List by Siobhan Vivian

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal

Conflict, War, Genocide & the Refugee Experience

A Country to Call Home: Anthology of Young Refugees & Asylum Seekers ed. by Lucy Popescu

Illegal by Eoin Colfer (graphic novel)*

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillion

Act of Love or The Trap by Alan Gibbons*

Bone Talk by Candy Gourlay

Staff Reading Lists

      

Literacy Mat