Reading
We are passionate about books at SFG. Pupils of all ages are expected to read widely and diversely to broaden their horizons and to improve their literacy. All pupils are expected to have a reading book with them at all times.
Research has shown that reading for pleasure makes a huge difference to children’s educational performance. Children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures and the world around them. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.
We devote time to reading at SFG. Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what’s printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read.
Research on the impact of reading:
UCL - Children who read books daily score higher in school tests, vast new study states
DFE - Research evidence on reading for pleasure
GL Assessment - The importance of reading to the whole school curriculum
Looking for your next page turner? Go to Book Finder
Discovering Children's Books at the British Library
News websites:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk
Year 6 Summer Reading List
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
- Boy X by Dan Smith
- Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
- Demolition Dad by Phil Earle
- El Deafo by Cece Bell
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- How to Capture an Invisible Cat by Paul Tobin
- Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens
- My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O’Hara
- Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- Perijee and Me by Ross Montgomery
- Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
- Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
- She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
- Small Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans
- The Astounding Broccoli Boy by Frank Cottrell Boyce
- The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone
- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
- The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
- The School For Good and Evil by Soman Chainini
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Year 7 Summer Reading List
- Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
- Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
- Skellig by David Almond
- Stormbreaker (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz
- The Owl Service by Alan Garner
- Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
- The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
- The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
- I Know Why The Cages Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Charlie and the Chocolotate Factory by Roald Dahl
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier
- Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Emma by Jane Austen
- The Pearl by John Steinbeck
- Spies by Michael Frayn
- Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman
- Litttle Women by Louisa May Alcott
- The Coral Island by R M Ballantyne
- Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles
Year 8 Summer Reading List
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Gone Series by Michael Grant
- The Godmother by Carrie Adams
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- Paper Towns by John Green
- Girl Online by Zoe Sugg
- Everybody Jam by Ali Lewis
- Looking Glass Girl by Cathy Cassidy
- The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- Love, Aubrey by Suzanna LaFleur
- Angelic by L P Swalheim
- Dark Secrets series by Elizabeth Chandler
- The Host by Stephanie Mayer
- Confessions of a Murder Suspect series by James Patterson
- The Selection series by Kiera Cass
- The Maze Runner series by James Dashner
- The Hobbit by J R Tolkien
- Marley and Me by John Grogan
Year 9 Summer Reading List
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
- The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Infernal Devices series and Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
- When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan
- The Universe v. Alex Woods by Gavin Extence
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
- Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
- The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Year 10 Summer Reading List
Fiction:
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
1984 by George Orwell
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
Non-fiction:
Young, Gifted and Black by Jamia Wilson
Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust by Hedi Fried
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Secret Footballer by Anonymous
Unbelievable by Jessica Ennis
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Born a Crime: Stories form a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Year 11 Summer Reading List
Fiction:
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
The Time Machine by H G Wells
Remembrance by Theresa Breslin
Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Nonfiction:
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Yes She Can by Molly Dillon
Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of The Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted The Nazis by K. R. Gaddy