Reading School

We aim to develop a reading culture that is fully embedded within our school, a culture that will become part of the foundations of the school and involve everyone in the process. Developing a love of reading in our students is one of our key responsibilities as educators, and as we develop further our Reading School project, we are keen to ensure that our students are supported with their reading both in school and at home.

Reading for Pleasure
Above all else, students should enjoy reading. If we can successfully foster a love of reading in our students whilst they are with us, they will reap the benefits far into the future. In order to celebrate reading we provide our students with opportunities to access a range of experiences that we hope will develop a positive reading culture:

• we value greatly our links with Wilmslow Library, taking all Year 7 students for an introductory visit during the autumn term. Our local library also hosts our annual creative writing competition; a wonderful opportunity to emphasise the value of literacy
• making the most of our proximity to Manchester, we have strong links with the historic Portico Library
• our students have recently enjoyed success in the prestigious Sadie Massey Awards for Young Readers
• national celebrations of reading, such as our 2015 record-breaking book quiz and Poetry by Heart, present valuable moments to promote and enjoy reading

Daily Reading Practice: a priority
We aim to ensure that our students are reading regularly, with access to high quality books that they both enjoy and that present an appropriate level of challenge.  A key priority is to ensure that our students are engaging in daily reading practice. A minimum of thirty minutes every day should be spent reading in order to develop essential reading skills.  One registration period a week is devoted to reading. Furthermore, many lessons begin with reading time with students encouraged to seize moments to enjoy their current book.  During break and lunchtime, ‘Reading Rooms’ have been created in order to provide spaces around school where students can relax with a book.

Quality Reading
We have compiled ‘Top 50 Reads’ lists to highlight good quality titles. These have been organised loosely according to the level of challenge that they present.  All Year 7 and 8 students are enrolled on Accelerated Reader (AR), a computer programme that helps teachers and librarians manage and monitor students’ independent reading practice. Students pick a book at their own level and read it at their own pace. When finished, they take a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that your child understood what was read.) AR gives students, teachers, and librarians feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher uses to help your child set goals and to direct on going reading practice. Students using AR choose their own books to read, rather than having one assigned to them. This makes reading a much more enjoyable experience as they can choose books that are interesting to them.

We would urge all our parents to support us by encouraging their sons and daughters to read at home.
If you would like advice or guidance on reading at Wilmslow High School please contact Mrs Baldwin: kbaldwin@wilmslowhigh.com

Top 50 reads KS3

1-10 = most accessible, 40-50 = most challenging. (p.=number of pages) (number = Book level)
1. ‘Boy’ by James Mayhew p. 32 (1.6)
2. ‘Angel House’ by Anne Curtis p. 24 (1.7)
3. ‘20,000 leagues under the Sea’ by Carl Bowen p. 63 (3.0)
4. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Benjamin Harper p. 63 (2.4)
5. ‘Pale’ by Chris Woodling p. 69 (2.9)
6. ‘Shine’ by Candy Gourlay p. 304 (3.5)
7. ‘The Secret Garden’ by Pauline Francis p. 56 (3.6)
8. ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’ by Carl Bowen p. 63 (3.6)
9. ‘Apple and Rain’ by Sarah Crossan p. 232 (3.8)
10. ‘Oliver Twist’ by Pauline Francis p. 48 (4.1)
11. ‘The London Eye Mystery’ by Siobhan Dowd p. 322 (4.1)
12. ‘Treasure Island’ by Pauline Francis p. 48 (4.1)
13. ‘Pig-heart Boy’ by Malorie Blackman p. 208 (4.3)
14. ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B White p. 175 (4.4)
15. ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar p. 232 (4.6)
16. ‘The Witches’ by Roald Dahl p. 208 (4.7)
17. ‘The Weight of Water’ by Sarah Crossan p. 240 (4.7)
18. ‘Girl Online’ by Zoella p. 345 (4.7)
19. ‘The 13 Secrets’ by Michelle Harrison p. 392 (4.8)
20. ‘The art of being Normal’ by Lisa Williamson p. 353 (4.8)
21. ‘Wonder’ by R.J Palacio p. 316 (4.8)
22. ‘Above World’ by Jen Reece p. 356 (5.0)
23. ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl p. 240 (5.0)
24. ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’ by Michelle Magorian p. 386 (5.1)
25. ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13-3/4’ by Sue Townsend p. 268 (5.1)
26. ‘Call of the Wild’ by Pauline Francis p. 56 (5.3)
27. ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry p. 224 (5.7)
28. ‘Angels in Training’ by Karen McCombie p. 192 (5.7)
29. ‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’ by Judith Kerr p. 277 (5.7)
30. ‘The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe’ by C.S Lewis p. 171 (5.7)
31. ‘I Capture the Castle’ by Dodie Smith p. 408 (5.9)
32. ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo p.142 (5.9)
33. ‘Tom’s Midnight Garden’ by Philippa Pierce p. 229 (6.1)
34. ‘Northern Lights/ The Golden Compass’ by Philip Pullman p. 399 (6.2)
35. ‘The boy at the Top of the Mountain’ by John Boyne p. 215 (6.2)
36. ‘The Colour of Magic’ by Terry Prachett p. 285 (6.4)
37. ‘The Hobbit’ by JRR Tolkien p. 280 (6.6)
38. ‘Anne of Green Gables’ by LM Montgomery p. 253 (7.3)
39. ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll p. 207 (7.4)
40. ‘Peter Pan’ by Barrie James p. 200 (7.7)
41. ‘Black Beauty’ by Anna Sewell p. 346 (7.7)
42. ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ by Mark Twain p. 342 (8.1)
43. ‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis Stevenson p. 346 (8.3)
44. ‘The War of the Worlds’ by H.G Wells p. 172 (9.1)
45. ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ by Jules Verne p. 245 (9.6)
46. ‘The Mill on the Floss’ by George Elliot p. 472 (9.9)
47. ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens p. 511 (11.3)
48. ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ by Victor Hugo p. 501 (11.8)
49. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen p. 238 (12)
50. ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley p. 282 (12.2)