Reading is a fundamental part of life at Whitworth Community High School. Students are given the opportunity to read in many areas of their school life, and we ensure that all students leave us with the critical reading skills they will need for successful, happy lives.

Reading in Lessons

Students are taught new content in their lessons using frequent exposure to high quality texts in all their academic subjects. They are taught to read, speak and write using academic vocabulary – students regularly ‘read like’ historians, biologists and literary scholars.

Linguistics

In Y7, students explore the impact of Greek myths on modern culture including word etymology, the morals and messages they can teach us in order to build our understanding and cultural capital.

Register and Read

According to research by Sussex University in 2019, we can all improve our reading skills by listening to books being read aloud. All students in Y7-10 take part in our Register and Read programme where form tutors read aloud to their forms:

During every session, there will be opportunities to discuss the plot, characters and themes to enhance students’ experience of reading.

Reading for pleasure and the library

Students in Y7-9 are enrolled on the Accelerated Programme and they can visit the library every day after school, and during lunch times. We have a well-stocked library with lots of exciting texts. Mrs Pickering is on hand to help advise and support students in finding the best reading material along with our student librarians. The library is a relaxing, quiet space where students can read in peace.

Reading Support

We want to ensure that no child ever leaves Whitworth without the critical reading skills they need to navigate the wider world. Any student who is struggling with literacy is given targeted support. Sometimes this is through 1:1 Reading Buddy schemes and sometimes through form time or after school intervention sessions with staff trained in phonics and strategies to develop fluency. We work closely with external partners, such as GL Assessment and the New Group Reading Test in order to ensure that our students get the absolute best experience possible.

Reading 

New Y7s (and any of our current students), please follow the link below to listen to our staff reading our transition novel, Crater Lake'. We hope you enjoy this book.

https://youtu.be/mbx9EiQAINA