Reading is the primary medium for gaining academic knowledge. In order to understand a text, people need to comprehend 95% of the vocabulary used. This rises to 98% for ‘comfortable’ comprehension. To aid this, pupils need to develop their vocabulary and this is most successfully achieved by reading extensively.
‘You cannot build your vocabulary unless you meet new words, and to meet them you must read.’ Mark Peploe and Bernado Bertolucci
Therefore, we would like pupils to read each night for a least half an hour. Please find below a parental guide for supporting reading for pleasure, as well as a list of recommended reads. During English lessons, English teachers will regularly check and challenge pupils’ chosen reading materials in order to encourage them to read appropriately challenging books.
To complement this, all KS3 students will have a novel for use during ERIC (Everybody Reading in Class) lessons. Although a reading book has always been an essential part of our pupils' equipment in school, we have also chosen to read ‘Coram Boy’ by Jamila Gavin together. Therefore, we would also expect your child to keep reading this and share their views about it.