Why is reading in secondary school important for your child? 

At Clarion, we believe that reading is the bedrock of our students securing great grades and building great character. Reading unlocks our broad and ambitious curriculum for our students. Without the ability to read fluently and at length, accessing learning is much more challenging. That’s why we’ve made developing our students’ ability to read confidently and fluently one of our key Teaching and Learning priorities. 

Research shows that there is a strong link between reading ability and success at GCSEs and A Levels. 

The evidence is clear that reading lies at the heart of students doing well at GCSE and beyond: 

• Research shows that there is a strong link between reading ability and success at GCSEs and A Levels. Better readers perform better not only in subjects such as English, Geography, History and Sociology, but also Maths and Science. It also suggests a strong correlation between a student’s reading ability and their success in subjects including Art, Drama, Music, PE and Media. Regardless of what your child wants to do in later life, reading is of huge importance. 

• We also know that many of our students arrive at Clarion finding reading challenging. Nationally, only 73% of pupils left primary school having reached the expected level for reading in 2019. Many of our students also speak English as a second or even third language. This makes the work we do to improve students’ reading ability even more important. 

• Reading for pleasure is important in determining how well a child does in the future and what career path they go down. For example, 16 year olds who read are more likely to secure professional or managerial jobs in the future.  It also improves children’s empathy, self-esteem, resilience and the ability to understand one’s identity.

Further reading:

If you’re interested in finding out more about the importance of reading in secondary school and how you can support your find, we recommend the following websites:

• BookTrust: Reading with your child

• Gov.uk: 10 top tips for parents to support children to read

• Pearson: Top tips reading with your child at home

How are we supporting your child’s reading? 

We’ve made reading one of our whole school Teaching and Learning priorities. We have put in place a range of strategies and initiatives in place to support your child’s reading both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Developing your child’s reading in lessons - reading for betterment 

• More opportunities for reading in lessons: All subjects contribute to developing students’ reading. From Maths, to Drama, to Geography, we’ve identified within our curriculum maps how your child’s reading will be nurtured and supported by individual departments through tailored disciplinary reading strategies. That means your child will know how to read like a Historian, a Mathematician, a Scientist, and so on. 

• Teaching a range of reading strategies: Research suggests that there is 3 to 4 times more reading at secondary school compared to primary school. That’s why we focus on teaching students a range of different reading strategies, such as guided reading, summarising, and comprehension. These differ depending on the subject, as all subjects have different reading demands. This both supports struggling readers and allows our students to access more ambitious and challenging texts. Reading strategies are also shown to improve writing and subject knowledge - again, key to securing those great grades.

Reading for pleasure 

• Regular opportunities for reading outside of lessons: We allocate two form times per week to reading. In one form time, students can read a book of their choice - this can be anything from a novel, to manga, to a textbook or revision guide. In the other form time, students in Years 7 to 11 read from a booklet as a form, with the form tutor reading aloud. The ‘Reading for Pleasure’ booklet includes the first chapters from a wide range of books, including The Hate U Give, Noughts and Crosses, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. This initiative is based on research showing that students benefit massively from hearing an expert reader read aloud. It also gives students the opportunity to read some of the most groundbreaking books of the last century. Our students value the time we set aside for reading, with 74% saying they find form time reading impactful. 

• Promoting a culture of reading: Finally, we want to foster a love of reading at a school wide level. For us, it doesn’t start and stop with World Book Day. All year round, teachers promote a culture of reading by regularly having conversations about their favourite books or displaying the latest book they’ve read and enjoyed. Reading lists are also available in the library and in department areas, as well as on the school website and in student planners. Reading is part of the fabric of Clarion, with students reading more than ever before - 94% of students note that now, they read at least one book each half-term. 

• DEAR - Drop Everything and Read: Once a week, our KS3 students have the opportunity to drop everything and read a book of their choice! This has been a hugely popular initiative, with 85% of students saying they really enjoy DEAR. 

• A fantastic library: At Clarion, our students are fortunate enough to have a well-stocked library and full-time librarian who regularly puts on exciting events and competitions. It also provides students with a quiet place to read and work after school and at break times. Years 7 to 9 also have fortnightly library lessons.

Supporting our struggling readers 

• Reading interventions for struggling readers: It goes without saying that reading is not easy for everyone. As reading demands increase in secondary school, it’s important we address this as soon as possible. We’ve put a range of  interventions in place to support students who find reading more challenging in coordination with the English, SEND and EAL Departments. 

  • Children with reading ages below their chronological age receive targeted reading support on a fortnightly basis to develop their word-level reading and comprehension skills. Language comprehension and word recognition are the two critical skills that underpin skilled reading. We use ReadingWise to run these interventions, a research-informed reading intervention programme that focuses on phonics, decoding, comprehension and vocabulary. The programme is designed to strengthen core reading foundations and support students in becoming confident and skilled readers in the long-term. You can find out more about the programme here. 

  • All of our Year 10s take part in a bespoke reading intervention programme to ensure they are in the best possible position to excel in their GCSESs. This programme spotlights the importance of comprehension skills, including literal comprehension, prediction and inference, supporting their ability to access an ambitious GCSE curriculum. Alongside this, our strongest readers take part in an ‘Ambitious Readers’ programme, engaging with culturally relevant and challenging texts to further develop their reading and critical thinking skills.

What can you do to support your child’s reading? 

Parents and carers often ask us what they can do to support their child’s reading. Here are some of our main suggestions: 

• Emphasise the importance of reading: The most important thing that you can do to support your child’s reading is to speak to them about why it’s important. Some students don’t enjoy reading in secondary school or find it increasingly difficult, and so are less likely to want to do it. It’s much easier for us to work together in giving all children the same message at school and at home: reading makes you do better at school and makes you a more well-rounded, happy person. 

• Support with home learning: Your child will be set home learning every day, from Year 7 through to Year 13. This will be set according to their home learning timetable. A lot of the work set will provide opportunities for them to develop their reading skills and master different reading strategies, such as summarising or comprehension. Your support in encouraging your child to complete their home learning to the best of their ability is key in developing their reading. 

• Having a reading book: It’s important that your child always has a book with them. This can be any book - fiction, non-fiction, anime, a textbook, and so on. What’s important is that they have access to reading material at any given time. 

• Encourage your child to read every day: Reading for just 15 minutes a day will, without a doubt, support your child in securing the best possible grades. Encourage your child to set some time aside to read every day after school. Research consistently shows that regular reading outside of school has a significant positive impact on children’s reading ability, vocabulary development, and overall academic success.

• Encourage your child to use libraries: At Clarion, we are extremely lucky to have a fantastic and well-stocked library with a full time librarian. This is a privilege that many schools can no longer afford. Encourage your child to use the school library or local libraries, such as Golders Green Library, Hendon Library, Finchley Church End Library or Colindale Library. 

• Help your child choose a book: Sometimes, children are reluctant to read because they simply don’t know how to choose a book that they’ll enjoy. Take the time to go through reading lists with them to help them find their next favourite book. 

  • A KS3-4 reading list can be found here - there is also a copy in their planner 

  • This is an additional reading list resource 

  • Most subjects also have subject specific reading lists if your child has a particular area of interest, such as Science or History

School Library Catalogue

KS3 / KS4 Reading List