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Reading

Reading at Lilian Baylis

Why it matters

Reading is a fun and enjoyable activity that can help you relax and unwind. It's also a great way to learn new things and expand your knowledge. When you read, you get to explore different worlds and ideas and meet interesting characters.

Reading can also help you improve your language skills, such as your vocabulary and grammar. So not only is reading fun, it can also help you in school and in life. When you read, you expose yourself to new information and ideas, which can help you perform better in school. Reading also helps you develop critical thinking and analysis skills, as you must interpret and analyse the texts you read.

What we’re doing about it

2024/2025 Reading Competition

Calling all bookworms and reading enthusiasts!

In September 2024 we opened up an epic reading competition to our students that will test their skills and challenge them to explore all kinds of different reading materials. From diving into a good book to flicking through magazines, discussing newspapers, and even creating your own reading-themed posters, there's something for everyone in this competition.

We've got some seriously amazing prizes up for grabs. From reward trips to stacks of sweet stationary and yummy confectionery, you won't want to miss out on the chance to win.

So grab your favourite book and let's get reading! Winners will be announced on February 1st 2023.

Reading competition

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Tutors are all regularly trained on how to guide students to read actively, making sure that they can predict, clarify, summarise, visualise, infer, and evaluate as this is what the best readers tend to do as they go. Each week we have a different focus strategy that teachers use when leading reading for pleasure and academic reading in their subject.

Lucky winners of this competition were already rewarded with a creative writing workshop and the chance to meet award winning author Maisie Chan!

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Tutor Reads in the Morning

As part of school life and our routine here, students are reading with their form twice per week. The texts have been selected by carefully reviewing polls that are based on young people’s opinions in Lambeth. Then after reading a text, we review how well it is received to make sure that we are being responsive and offering books that are enjoyable to read for all.

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Reading Plus for Literacy

This innovative programme is specifically designed to help increase students' reading ages and improve their overall literacy skills. By participating in Reading Plus, students will have the opportunity to not only improve their reading abilities, but also attain academic success. Studies have shown that students who read regularly and have strong reading skills tend to perform better in school, and we are confident that Reading Plus will provide our students with the tools they need to succeed.

We encourage all parents to support their children to participate in this programme and make reading a regular part of their daily routine as part of their English home learning. Together, we can help our students reach their full potential and achieve academic success.

Students with excellent engagement with the programme can go on to win prizes and even become reading champions!

Academic and Cross Curricular Reading

Reading is central to learning, so it makes sense that it would feature across all subjects.

Independent learners are learners who are curious and are empowered to explore new topics on their own. If you have the ability to read broadly and successfully then you can do this successfully. At Lilian Baylis we equip our students with the tools necessary to succeed at the next level of education and beyond.

That’s why if you walk into any lesson here, be it Science or even P.E. you will find students reading. They will be reading high quality subject specific academic content. Literacy does take different forms across different disciplines, but it is the continuous thread that links our curriculum together.

We prioritise reading in our curriculum planning and regularly provide training to our teachers to help them stay up-to-date on the latest reading strategies and techniques. By including reading across all subject areas, we are able to help our students develop a love of reading and improve their overall literacy skills. We believe that reading is a crucial part of a well-rounded education and are dedicated to helping our students succeed.