Reading at Priory
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” George R.R. Martin
We all know how important reading is for the development of the mind and therefore the person. Extensive research highlights the advantages gained by keen readers in terms of their vocabulary, their ability to express themselves and perhaps more importantly, their ability to engage, empathise and begin to see the world through other’s eyes.
At Priory we take reading super seriously, so seriously that in Key Stage 3 all pupils benefit from a minimum of 100 minutes per week of ‘independent’ reading time during their English lessons. In addition to this, all our staff are invited to contribute Book Recommendations via the school's newsletter; we celebrate World Book Day; we have embedded Everybody Reading during two of our five Learning for Life sessions and we celebrate pupils who demonstrate a love of reading.
Supporting all these initiatives is the library which is run by Mrs Elliott and a dedicated team of over a dozen pupil librarians who maintain order in what is a much-used space.
All pupils read widely and often to develop vocabulary and enhance their progress. They have access to a main library and a growing number of reading areas within departments. Pupils are encouraged to read as part of the curriculum and for their own pleasure.
We use Accelerated Reader resources within our library and English lessons. Read more about Accelerated Reader here: Accelerated Reader - Overview | Renaissance. Additionally, the English department use a programme called Bedrock Learning to help pupils develop their reading and vocabulary. Read more about Bedrock here: Vocabulary Curriculum | Bedrock Learning
In Years 7-10, two Learning for Life lessons per week are devoted to our ‘Everybody Reading’ scheme. Please read more about Everybody Reading here (and select tab).
All departments have considered their use of reading and reading materials as part of their responsibility to develop disciplinary literacy skills. Reading is built into the schemes of learning across the curriculum.
We promote and celebrate reading across the school by:
- Taking part in the national Bookbuzz reading programme from BookTrust Bookbuzz school reading programme for Year 7 and Year 8 | BookTrust that aims to help schools inspire a love of reading in 11 to 13-year-olds
- Having visiting authors come in to talk about their own work.
- Having a ‘Scholastic Book Fair’ once a year for pupils to buy books.
- Teachers displaying a plaque on their doors about their reading habits
- Celebrating aspects of reading and competitions in the newsletter
- Taking part in World Book Day
- Having pupil librarians
We support weaker readers with a diagnostic reading programme called Reading Plus Reading Plus | Online Reading Programme | Reading Solutions (readingsolutionsuk.co.uk) and this is overseen by the Learning Support department.
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