Reading is a key skill for pupils to gain access to a life of choice and opportunity. It is our goal that all pupils are proficient readers and enthusiastic about books. We know that our early teaching of phonics is outstanding. 98% of children passed the phonics screen in 2021/22, in  line with previous years (97%). We know that this is supported by a carefully planned phonics programme which starts in the  Summer term of Nursery and continues through to Year 2. 

Pupils graduate from the phonics programme with a high level of reading fluency (90wpm). We believe that all pupils need to be fluent readers in order to be successful in school but, more importantly, to identify as readers and develop a life-long love of reading. 

Pupils move from a phonics programme into Book Club which is focused around a key text and is taught to the end of Year 8. We know that being an adept reader requires knowledge, a broad vocabulary and high level of reading fluency. Being  both an adept and enthusiastic reader requires access to high quality books which reflect the diverse experiences of our  young people, and society more broadly. 

We now have 4 libraries in the school and these are well stocked with a broad variety of books. 

In Phase 1 and 2, we have also invested in a part- time librarian who can ensure the smooth running of the  libraries and build pupils' love for books. We also participated in the Get Hounslow Reading Initiative and have had staff participate in this training. 

In Year 7, we have just launched the Reach Reading Challenge, supporting pupils to read 16 books before they turn 16 from a diverse range of fiction and non-fiction choices. This encourages pupils to vary the genres, authors and time periods from which they read. In Year 12, we also launched The Big Read, supporting pupils with accessing more academically challenging texts, particularly non-fiction. 

We want to ensure that our pupils have a rich vocabulary that enables them to access texts. This requires a dual  approach. We need to ensure that all teachers are supporting pupils to expand their vocabulary and  have a clear understanding of vocabulary that pupils should know and they should be teaching. 

We also want to support pupils with speech and language difficulties to overcome these with careful intervention and clear working  between these and their in class teaching. We therefore know that teachers need to ensure that they are teaching Tier 2 words alongside specific Tier 3 words. 

We have shared training on dual-coding, examples and non-examples and reading strategies to support teachers’ ability to teach vocabulary effectively.  We have also, this year,  employed a full time in-house Speech and Language Therapist which we hope will help in many areas of the children’s  development, including their reading. We use NGRT tests to identify pupils that are significantly behind from Key Stage 2 upwards (this is in addition to the PIRA tests in Key Stage 2). From the NGRT tests, we identify pupils who require intervention or who would benefit from additional assessments to identify their area of need, for example the LASS test. This then helps us to identify specific interventions such as Switch-On Reading, Read Theory or Flash Academy (EAL specific).

These are books that every child should have the chance to read. 

We would encourage your child to read as many books from this list throughout the year. See how many you can read!

Reception

My Hair by Hannah Lee

FIve Minutes Peace by Jill Murphy

The Itchy- saurus by Rosie Wellesley 

The Smartest Giant In Town by Julia Donaldson

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Errol’s Garden by Gillian Hibbs

We Are Family by Patricia Hegarty

Amazing by Steve Antony 

Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

It’s Raining! It’s Pouring! We’re Exploring by Polly Peters

The Cookie by Kath Grimshaw 

The Pirates Are Coming! by John Condon

Is It A Mermaid? by Candy Gourlay

Lulu’s First Day by Anna McQuinn

Follow Your Dreams Little One by Vashti Harrison 

Dinosaurs And All That Rubbish by Michael Foreman

A Day At The Zoo: Hattie and Friends by Lesley Berrington

 

 


Year 1

The Cat in the Hat by Dr Suess

The Perfect Shelter by Clare Helen Welsh 

Lost and Found  by Oliver Jeffers

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

Funnybones by Allan and Janet Ahlberg

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty 

Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love 

I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child

Look Up! by Nathan Bryon

Billy and the Beast by Nadia Shireen

Shu Lin’s Grandpa by Matt Goodfellow and Yu Rong 

Mister Magnolia by Quentin Blake

Peace At Last by Jill Murphy

The Rabbit that belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell and Neal Layton 

Splash by Claire Cashmore

The Mystery of the Golden Pyramid by Adela Norean 


Year 2

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Here we are by Oliver Jeffers

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Corry

Wanda’s Words Got Stuck by Lucy Rowland 

Hot Dog by Sophie Corrigan

Pablo’s Feelings by Pablo 

Beegu by Alexis Deacon

What Happened to You? by James Catchpole

The Invisible by Tom Percival

What the Elephant Heard by Charlotte Guillain 

Count by Melvin Burgess

Leonora Bolt: Deep Sea Calamity by Lucy Brandt

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Mr Skip by Michael Morpurgo 

Isadora Moon Goes on Holiday by Harriet Muncaster

George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl  


Year 3

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch

The Jolly Roger and Pirate Piper by Jonny Duddle

The Journey by Francesca Sanna 

The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward 

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne

The Creakers by Tom Fletcher

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

The Butterfly Club by Jacqueline Wilson

The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd

Eddie Albert and the Amazing Animal Gang: The Amsterdam Adventure by Paul O'Grady

The Hatmakers By Tamzin Merchant

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

Sam Wu Is Not Afraid Of Ghosts by Kevin & Katie Tsang

Anisha Accidental Detective by Serena Patel 

Mayhem Mission by Burhana Islam

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell


Year 4

The Paddington Series by Michael Bond

Michael Rosen’s A to Z: the best children’s poetry from Agard to Zephaniah  edited by Michael Rosen

Sad Book by Michael Rosen

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

Stig of the Dump by Clive King

The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis

Alien In The Jam Factory by Chrissie Sains  

Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City by Rob Biddulph 

Good News: Why the World is Not as Bad as You Think by Rashmi Sirdeshpande

The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

Theseus and the Minotaur by David Orme and Wendy Body

The Diamond Brothers series by Anthony Horowitz

I Am Not A Label by Cerrie Burnell 

A Dark, Dark, Tale by Ruth Brown

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

 


Year 5

Clockwork by Phillip Pullman

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

Five Children and It by E Nesbit

The Borrowers by Mary Norton

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

Can You See Me by Libby Scott 

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

Dragon Mountain by Katie Tsang & Kevin Tsang 

There's A Boy in the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sacher

Runaway Robot by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Holes by Louis Sachar

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai


Year 6

High Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson

Patina by Jason Reynolds 

Lightning Chase Me Home by Amber Lee Dodd 

Amari and The Night Brothers by BB Alston 

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens 

Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo 

Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good by Louie Stowell

Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman 

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton

Running on Empty by S.E. Durrant  

Sky Dancer by Gill Lewis

Tin Boy by Steve Cole

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce

Perfectly Imperfect Stories by Leo Potion 

Black and British: A short, essential history by David Olusoga 

A Kind Of Spark by Elle McNicoll 


Y7

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

One by Sarah Crossan

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

Gone by Michael Grant

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Crossing by Manjeet Mann

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun by Tola Okogwu

Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson


Y8

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The Help by Katherine Stockett

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

The World of Norm by Jonathan Meres

One Day by David Nicholls

Looking for Alaska by John Green

The Race for the Lost Keystone by Val Rutt

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson-Burnett

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian

The Magician by Lev Grossman

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis

Sunny by Jason Reynolds

The Owl Service by Alan Garner

Outcast of Redwall by Brian Jacques


Y9

Pigeon English

A Pale View of Hills

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Beyond the Deepwoods by Steward Riddell

My Name Is Leon by Kit De Waal

The Wind Singer by William Nicholson

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Set in Stone by Linda Newberry

Sabriel by Garth Nix

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay


Y10

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes

Empire of the Sun by J G Ballard

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

A Room With A View by E M Forster

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett


Y11

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

1984 by George Orwell

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Disgrace by J M Coetzee

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James


Y12

That Reminds Me by Derek Owusu

The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon

The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Small Island by Andrea Levy

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

The Skeleton Key by Erin I Kelly

Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguch


Y13

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle

The Long Song by Andrea Levy

Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Normal People by Sally Rooney

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

Just Us by Claudia Rankine

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Free and Equal by Daniel Chandler

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwarz

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie