Reading: Opening Doors to Opportunity

At Woolmer Hill School, we believe reading is one of the most important skills we can develop in our students. Confident readers are better able to access the curriculum, build knowledge and vocabulary, understand different perspectives and engage with the world around them. Reading also nurtures imagination, empathy and curiosity, helping students become confident and independent learners.

Our vision is to foster a vibrant reading culture in which every student develops the confidence, curiosity and enjoyment to read widely. We want students to become skilled, increasingly independent readers who can engage with challenging texts and cultivate a lifelong habit of reading for pleasure and learning.

An evidence-informed approach

Our approach to reading is guided by research and shaped by our experience in supporting students to develop their reading skills. In 2013, Woolmer Hill School took part in preliminary research trials conducted by Royal Holloway, University of London, examining ways to support reading development during secondary education. This work has contributed to the development of FFT Education’s Unlocking Reading programme, which provides practical, research-informed approaches to developing secondary students’ reading.

Our approach also reflects the recommendations of the Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance on improving literacy in secondary schools. We recognise that reading development extends beyond English classes. Students need opportunities to enrich their vocabulary, deepen their comprehension, and improve their reading strategies to effectively grasp increasingly demanding texts across all subjects.

Our aim

Through this whole-school approach, we seek to ensure that students are explicitly taught how to read effectively, have opportunities to apply their reading skills across different subjects, and develop the confidence and motivation to read widely and deeply.

Our aim is that every student leaves Woolmer Hill as a confident, capable reader, with the skills and curiosity to read widely, think deeply, continue learning independently and carry with them a lasting love of reading.

Please use the drop-down boxes below for more information about our strategies and resources to develop confident readers with a love for reading.

• Reading at Woolmer Hill School
  • Bedrock Learning

    • Bedrock Learning

  • Read Aloud

    • Read Aloud

  • Our Library

    • Our Library