As we come to the end of another successful year at Durrington High School, we’d like to share some exciting plans for developing reading across the school in 2025–2026. From September, we will launch a new strategy entitled Getting Durrington Reading, which brings together students, teachers, and parents to help every child enjoy more quality books during their time at the school.
The strategy has three key aims:
1. Foster a love of reading.
We want every student to value and enjoy reading. To support this, students will have more opportunities to read during school time, particularly in Period 1 and library lessons. We’ll celebrate and promote books and reading in a variety of ways to ensure every child experiences the many benefits they offer. At the same time, we’ll provide targeted support for students who may find reading difficult or are reluctant to read. We would also love your support at home, as we know that when school and families work together, great things can happen. Specifically, we’ll be asking every family to create more opportunities for reading at home.
2. Embed reading across the curriculum.
Students will read more widely in every subject — not just fiction in English, but also textbooks, case studies, reports, and source materials in all curriculum areas. We’ll also launch a Read the Curriculum challenge, encouraging students to explore non-fiction linked to their academic subjects.
3. Support struggling readers.
We will enhance our support for students who find reading difficult, whether in decoding words or understanding texts. Through the Lexonik literacy intervention, more students than ever will receive targeted help to improve their reading age, so every child leaves Durrington with the literacy skills they need to succeed in further education and beyond.
Extensive research shows that reading helps overcome economic disadvantage, boosts wellbeing and social skills, improves academic outcomes, and fosters imagination, creativity, and empathy. These are qualities we want for every child at Durrington — and we’re sure you do too.
The project will be led by Mr Tharby, associate senior leader and co-leader of English, and Mrs Decosta, our school librarian. While many of our students already have excellent reading habits, we know there are others who still need to develop them — and we are excited to work with you to ensure every child can experience the joy, comfort, and educational opportunities that reading brings.
We will write to all parents in September with more detailed information. In the meantime, if you have ideas for how we can better encourage young people to read, please don’t hesitate to contact Mr Tharby at the school.
