Read To Succeed
Sue Garlick
/ Categories: General
What is ‘Read to Succeed’?
Read to Succeed or ‘RTS’ is a session of 10 minutes when every student in the school reads a book of their choice in silence. In Year 11 and 13 we encourage students to read from an exam text/revision guide to further support their independent study and preparation for their exams. We expect all students to have a book to read with them every day; students can access the extensive library to borrow and change books, often on a recommendation from the very knowledgeable library staff. Tutors support reading in tutor time by keeping a log of which books the students are reading, and through planned activities to discuss and share reviews of books that they have read. In Year 7&8, the year teams work closely with the library and the English department to ensure that students are reading books at the appropriate level, using Accelerated Reader and the reading tests to inform choices made about the books being read by individual students.
Why do we do Read to Succeed?
We could give many reasons why it is important for students to practise reading every day, no matter how much they do or do not enjoy it. Reading is an essential life skill and a person’s ability to read can impact on many different aspects of their life, continuing long after they have finished formal education. As it is of National interest, the subject of reading has been the topic of much research over the last 10 years, and there are many studies that have been published to help everyone to understand the wider impact that reading and literacy skills can have. Some of these studies include the relationship between literacy levels and jobs/professions, the ability to understand and empathise with others and the academic achievements of students who read books regularly and more than once a week.
What do the students say?
The vast majority of students enjoy RTS and they like the fact that they have dedicated time to read a book of their choice during the school day. We have discussed Read to Succeed with student voice reps (The A Team) and their feedback has been very positive. Moving RTS into tutor time has given tutors the opportunity to become a part of this very important activity, supporting the academic development of all students and helping them to start the day with a positive and focused reading session.
For further information and support
If you would like support in encouraging a student to read/change their book in the library, please contact their Tutor in the first instance. For further support and advice about reading and how you can support at home, please do contact me directly at vwalker@theregisschool.co.uk and I will be very happy to help.