‘Fluent reading supports comprehension because pupils’ cognitive resources are freed from focusing on word recognition and can be redirected towards comprehending the text’. Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)
Reading Canon
The ‘Reading Canon’ programme aims to encourage our pupils to develop confidence in reading voice and to share the joy of reading great Literature with others. In ‘Reading Canon’ time tutor groups in Years 7-13 share the communal reading of three books per year from the St Aidan’s Reading Canon. Part of pupils’ entitlement at St Aidan’s is to read at least fifteen books through the Reading Canon programme by the end of their time at the school. Daily reading of challenging books exposes our pupils to a culture where storytelling is valued and rich and aids all of us: enabling older pupils to look to anecdotes to help them understand new concepts and helping younger pupils assimilate ideas; it encourages us all to think about our curriculum as a collection of great stories of world culture. At the end of every book pupils complete a short quiz and review of the book:
The range of books have been picked for their interest and challenge, introducing pupils to new vocabulary and developing pupils’ confidence and strength in reading. The books that make up the prescribed Canon purposefully come from a range of cultures, timelines and genres, with the intention of promoting inclusivity and diversity, allowing our pupils to become citizens of the world (9 protected characteristics). Parents from our community appreciate the high profile of reading in the school:
‘My son’s reading has thrived since starting at St. Aidan’s. He is now asking to go to book shops and buy books and is actively reading for pleasure. The reading Canon sessions have really brought him on and improved his self confidence with reading and that they have “done him the world of good”.’ Year 7 Parent
Our Reading Journey is as follows:
Reading Canon review:
‘Lots of things are mysteries. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer to them’. This is Christopher’s murder mystery story. There are also no lies in this story because Christopher can’t tell lies. Christopher does not like strangers or the colours yellow or brown or being touched. On the other hand, he knows all the countries in the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7507. When Christopher decides to find out who killed the neighbour’s dog, his mystery story becomes more complicated than he could have ever predicted.Christopher is 15 and lives in Swindon with his father. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. He is obsessed with maths, science and Sherlock Holmes but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour’s lawn he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it. As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets – for both Christopher and the rest of his family.
Reading age 11+
Expertly selected books for 11, 12 and 13 year old children (lovereading4kids.co.uk)
Lyra Belacqua lives half-wild and carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon, Pantalaimon, always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle – a struggle born of stolen children, witch clans and armoured bears. As she hurtles towards danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, the biggest battle imaginable.
Reading age 11+
“I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.” When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize. I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls’ education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world.
Reading age 11+
A Stunning Novel of Hope and Redemption. Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable and beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir’s father’s servant, is a Hazara — a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship and betrayal, and about the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of fathers over sons — their love, their sacrifices, and their lies. Written against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed.
Reading age 13+
Imagine you’re the only boy in a town of men. And you can hear everything they think. And they can hear everything you think. Imagine you don’t fit in with their plans… Todd Hewitt is just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man. But his town has been keeping secrets from him. Secrets that are going to force him to run.
Reading age 13+
Stop it! You’re all behaving like animals! Worse than animals – like blankers!’ Sephy is a Cross: dark-skinned and beautiful, she lives a life of privilege and power. But she’s lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her. Callum is a nought: pale-skinned and poor, he’s considered to be less than nothing – a blanker, there to serve Crosses – but he dreams of a better life. They’ve been friends since they were children, and they both know that’s as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies – love is out of the question. Then – in spite of a world that is fiercely against them – these star-crossed lovers choose each other. But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . . . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come. Voted as one of the UK’s best-loved books, Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses is a seminal piece of YA fiction; a true modern classic.
Reading age 13+
Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel – a black man falsely charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.
Reading age 13+
Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black – and her terrible purpose. ‘No one chills the heart like Susan Hill’
Reading age 11+
Drifters in search of work, George and his childlike friend Lennie, have nothing in the world except the clothes on their back – and a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are dashed as Lennie – struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy – becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes of friendship and shared vision, and giving a voice to America’s lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men remains Steinbeck’s most popular work, achieving success as a novel, Broadway play and three acclaimed films.
Reading age 13+
The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,” are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.
Reading Age 14+
Two weeks after September 11th, award-winning journalist Åsne Seierstad went to Afghanistan to report on the conflict there. In the following spring she returned to live with an Afghan family for several months. For more than twenty years Sultan Khan defied the authorities – be they communist or Taliban – to supply books to the people of Kabul. He was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned by the communists and watched illiterate Taliban soldiers burn piles of his books in the street. He even resorted to hiding most of his stock in attics all over Kabul.But while Khan is passionate in his love of books and hatred of censorship, he is also a committed Muslim with strict views on family life. As an outsider, Seierstad is able to move between the private world of the women – including Khan’s two wives – and the more public lives of the men. And so we learn of proposals and marriages, suppression and abuse of power, crime and punishment. The result is a gripping and moving portrait of a family, and a clear-eyed assessment of a country struggling to free itself from history.
Reading Age 14+
When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless elite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. Orwell’s chilling ‘fairy story’ is a timeless and devastating satire of idealism betrayed by power and corruption.
Reading Age 12+
Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman is a powerful and emotional novel about Dante, a teenage boy whose life changes overnight when a baby daughter he never knew existed is left on his doorstep. As Dante learns to cope with the challenges of fatherhood, family relationships, and growing up, he must make difficult decisions about responsibility, love, and the future. The story explores important themes such as family, identity, and resilience, making it a thought-provoking and inspiring read.
Reading Age 13+
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a classic coming-of-age novel set in the American South during the 1930s. Narrated by young Scout Finch, the story follows her experiences growing up in a small town where her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defends a Black man falsely accused of a crime. Through Scout’s eyes, the novel explores themes of justice, prejudice, courage, and empathy, making it a powerful and timeless read.
Reading Age 13+
1984 by George Orwell is a gripping dystopian novel set in a future society where the government controls every aspect of people's lives. The story follows Winston Smith, a man who secretly rebels against the oppressive rule of Big Brother and the Party. As Winston searches for truth and freedom, he faces the dangers of living in a world built on surveillance, propaganda, and fear. The novel explores themes of power, manipulation, and individual freedom, making it a thought-provoking and influential read.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a Gothic novel that tells the story of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man who becomes obsessed with beauty and youth. After wishing that his portrait would age instead of him, Dorian remains young while the painting reflects the consequences of his actions. As he pursues a life of pleasure and excess, he discovers the dark cost of vanity and moral corruption. The novel explores themes of appearance, temptation, and the impact of one's choices, making it a fascinating and thought-provoking read.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris is a powerful historical novel based on the true story of Lale Sokolov, a Jewish man imprisoned in Auschwitz during World War II. Assigned the role of tattooist, Lale is responsible for marking fellow prisoners with identification numbers. Amid the horrors of the concentration camp, he falls in love with Gita, a fellow prisoner, and risks everything to help her survive. The novel explores themes of love, hope, courage, and resilience in the face of unimaginable hardship, making it a moving and unforgettable read.
My Name Is Why by Lemn Sissay is a powerful memoir that tells the true story of the author's childhood in the UK care system. Separated from his mother as a baby, Lemn grows up without knowing the truth about his family or identity. Through personal records, letters, and memories, he uncovers the shocking realities of his past and the challenges he faced while searching for belonging. The book explores themes of identity, resilience, family, and self-discovery, making it an inspiring and deeply moving read.
This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God’s elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts.
Young, handsome and fabulously rich, Jay Gatsby is the bright star of the Jazz Age, but as writer Nick Carraway is drawn into the decadent orbit of his Long Island mansion, where the party never seems to end, he finds himself faced by the mystery of Gatsby’s origins and desires. Beneath the shimmering surface of his life, Gatsby is hiding a secret: a silent longing that can never be fulfilled. And soon, this destructive obsession will force his world to unravel.In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald brilliantly captures both the disillusionment of post-war America and the moral failure of a society obsessed with wealth and status. But he does more than render the essence of a particular time and place, for – in chronicling Gatsby’s tragic pursuit of his dream – Fitzgerald re-creates the universal conflict between illusion and reality.
Reserve Text – Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code, Louis Sachar Holes and Agatha Christie Death on the Nile