The room returns to its roots
The Watkinson Library bears the name of Peter Watkinson, Headmaster between 1968 and 1991. Originally a library, the room was later used as a teaching space, but this year has seen it return to its roots to become the Key Stages 3 & 4 Library.
The Watkinson Library is the hub of the School's new accelerated reading scheme, Renaissance Accelerated Reader, which aims both to improve reading ability and to encourage pupils to engage in independent reading.
A key principle of the scheme is that reading ability is most effectively improved when the difficulty of reading material falls in a happy medium between too challenging and not challenging enough. Renaissance Accelerated Reader calls this happy medium the Zone of Proximal Development! The scheme’s whitepaper describes it as the range of difficulty in which pupils ‘are challenged and presented with new vocabulary, but are also given enough context to construct meaning without being frustrated.’
The scheme uses two tools to match pupils and texts – first, book quizzes that, in conjunction with tests, assess reading comprehension and monitor pupils’ reading ability, and, second, a metric of text complexity that captures the difficulty of a book, taking into account average sentence length, average word length, and average word difficulty.
The accelerated reading scheme is part of a wider reading strategy in school that builds reading into pupils’ daily routines. There are also dedicated library sessions, and the Library now has a dedicated reading room – a calm and cosy space where pupils can sit and read comfortably.
We had the chance to talk to four Year 7 pupils about their experiences of reading in school. They told us that pupils are encouraged to read before lessons begin and to talk about reading in form time, and that every pupil keeps a book in their schoolbag. When asked if they enjoyed reading, the answer was a unanimous, 'Yes!' •
Key Stage 3 pupils using the library
