Literacy and Reading

Reading is a fundamental part of life at Chorlton High School and we encourage all students to read widely for learning and for pleasure. Students are provided with opportunities to develop their reading skills across a wide range of areas of school life – including all academic subjects, the pastoral curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities.

Our READ with fluency CHS Scholar Habit makes clear to students some of the different steps they can take to focus on their reading.

Academic Reading:

Reading in Lessons

Students are taught to read for meaning in all of their different subject areas using high quality texts. Each scheme of work explicitly develops students’ vocabulary and students are supported when reading and writing like an expert in their different subject areas. Our subject area reading lists signpost wider reading for students linked to some of their favourite subjects.

Look through our Reading Lists below to enjoy an exciting range of books for each curriculum subject area.

CHS Reading Strategies

Students are explicitly taught through their subject areas the 9 skills of effective readers and these form our CHS Reading Strategies.

The Pastoral Curriculum

Thoughtful Thursday is a whole form time dedicated to reading for pleasure. Years 7-10 will focus on a different book each term and focus on reading for pleasure and discussing through oracy some of the topics their texts explore. Some of the books students explore are:

Extra-Curricular Opportunities:

The School Library

The Bodey Library is open after school and students can swap books as well as use the space for private reading or study. We have two full time dedicated librarians and the library has a wealth of fiction and non-fiction texts with the library catalogue being regularly updated. We regularly host author visits, both in real life and virtually, and a programme of calendared enrichment activities ensure that young people can be inspired by meeting some of their favourite authors and illustrators.
 

Our Online Library can be accessed by clicking on the banner below:

CHS Year of Reading

Each month the library runs a range of competitions and activities linked to a theme. This encourages students to visit the library and engage with new authors and genres.

Special Events and Competitions

Every student in Year 7 was gifted a free book as part of Book Buzz in the Autumn Term. In March we celebrate World Book Day in a festival of ways. We also run a wealth of competitions to instill a love of reading in our students, including the Four Book Challenge each summer holidays.

Reading in Lessons

Students are to taught to read for meaning in all of their different subject areas using high quality texts.They are explicitly taught how to read, speak and write like an expert in each subject area.

Our subject area reading lists signpost wider reading for students linked to some of their favourite subjects.

Reading Support

At CHS we are committed to ensuring that all students leave us with the critical reading skills they need to live creative, happy and successful lives. We identify those students who need additional support with their reading and match them with carefully targeted reading interventions. These interventions take place in small groups on a research proven reading programme with a specially trained member of staff.