Reading and Literacy

The Sir John Leman Reading Challenge

Reading for pleasure is proven to help young people with their emotional wellbeing as well as their academic achievement. To support our students in selecting enjoyable, high quality, age-appropriate books and to encourage reading, we have created a bespoke reading challenge.

How does it work?

For each year group, we have curated a list of eight books. They cover a range of genres, narrative styles and themes. Some have historical settings; some are right up to date. Some are considered ‘classics’ while others are recent prize winners.

The challenge is to read five of the eight books within each academic year. By the time they complete year 11, students who complete the challenge will have read 25 high quality books which will expand their horizons, inspire their imaginations and develop their reading skills.

How can students take part?

When students read a book on the challenge, they should fill in a short form to let us know that they have done so and what they thought of it. They will then be awarded ten house points (a ‘golden ticket’ in our rewards system). Therefore, even if a student does not complete the full challenge, their engagement with the scheme will still be rewarded. Students who complete the challenge by reading five books in a year will receive additional celebration and reward for their achievement.

What are the books?

Year 7

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Song Walker by Zillah Bethell

Artichoke Hearts by Sita Brahmachari

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah

Click here to complete form

Year 8

Cuckoo Song by Francis Hardinge

Across the Barricades by Joan Lingard

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D Taylor

Click here to complete form

Year 9

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho

This Tale is Forbidden by Polly Crosby

Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Click here to complete form

Year 10

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Click here to complete form

Year 11

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

It by Stephen King

You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Lies we Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

Click here to complete form