Reading at Wymondham College
We place an extremely high value on the importance of strong literacy skills for all our students Reading is a lifelong skill vital for independent learning and is therefore given the highest priority. At Wymondham College we are passionate about developing the reading skills of our students through a clear, consistent, whole school approach. We work together to share the responsibility of developing our young people’s ability to communicate, use language and understand that words carry meaning. We strongly believe that success in reading has a direct impact on progress in all other areas of the Curriculum and it is crucial in building an individual’s self-confidence and motivation. Language and Communication development is the key to success for our students at Wymondham College.
We believe that young people become successful readers through engagement in a variety of sensory and literary experiences on a daily basis. A high-quality learning environment is essential for effective listening and language development. We are passionate about providing a literacy rich environment that immerses our students in a range of literary activities and routines to reinforce, apply learning and extend their understanding. Our staff understand the importance of modelling standard English, using clear and effective communication systems (verbal, non-verbal and visual cues) that expose our students to a varied and rich vocabulary to exemplify meanings.
Our aims:
- To develop an interest in and to be passionate about books, encouraging students to lead their own learning, become attentive listeners and independent, reflective readers.
- To develop reading strategies to support reading comprehension.
- To promote and encourage a lifelong love of reading where students identify as a reader.
- To encourage students to take pride in the care and ownership of books.
- To develop student’s critical appreciation of the work of authors, poets and illustrators in order to emulate these skills in their own work.
- To create an environment that facilitates reading.
Reading for pleasure
At Wymondham College we have a number of initiatives to promote Reading for Pleasure.
- In Key Stage 3 students use the Scholastic Reader Pro online programme to complete quizzes on their reading. The Lexile Framework measures a text’s complexity and a reader’s skill level. It is used in 180 countries it is the most widely used reading scale in the world.
- Reader Pro tracks progress against Lexile range and recommends books based on appropriate level of challenge. Students enjoy using the programme during Prep time and in Library lessons; each English classroom displays a leader board, and a year group leader board is displayed in the corridor. Class teachers monitor engagement and progress on a fortnightly basis.
- Wymondham College is also a member of the Penguin/Pearson ‘Lit in Colour’ pioneers which promotes reading a diverse range of texts and authors.
Extracurricular reading opportunities
There are a number of extracurricular clubs that promote reading:
- KS5 book club
- KS3 Fiction Addiction club
- Reading Room club
- Anime Club
- KS4 Book Bingo
- KS5 Student led literature blog
- The Library facilities are open to all years at lunch and after school.
- The Library’s Reading Buddy scheme
- The Arvon creative writing residential trip (a group of students travel to a writer’s retreat in Yorkshire to work with published authors and work on their own creative writing.)
