At St Christopher, we prioritise reading to ensure every student can read confidently for pleasure and
Welcome to our Termly newsletter. We hope this will help you support your child with their reading at home
Read, Reflect, Respond Journal
Objective: Encourage thoughtful engagement with any reading material fiction or non-fiction
Step 1: Read
Read for 15–20 minutes This could be:
A chapter of a novel
A news article
A poem or short story
A scene from a play
Step 2: Reflect After reading, they choose one or two prompts to reflect on in writing: What surprised me?
What’s the author’s message?
What emotions did the text evoke?
What’s one question I’d ask the author? How does this connect to the real world?
Step 3: Respond Creatively (Optional but fun!) Encourage a short response in a creative format, such as:
A character’s journal entry
A comic strip summarising the chapter
A short letter to or from a character
Five benefits of our top tips this term:
Builds reading stamina and independence
Supports personal response and interpretation Can be tailored to different ability levels Requires minimal resources
A visual quote page with illustration Library Updates! �� New books arriving in September – fresh reads ready for the new term! �� Books now sorted by genre – find your favourites faster �� Library iPad updated –quicker and easier to use
READING READING NEWSLETTER
Summer Term 2025
Recommendations
KS5
Holly Jackson Robyn Fraser Susanne Okulitch
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
by Marianne Cronin
Life is short No-one knows that better than seventeen year old
Lenni living on the terminal ward But as she is about to learn, it's not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with Dodging doctor's orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eighty three year old from the next ward Their bond is instant as they realise that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years
To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything
As their extraordinary friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet
The Authority Gap: Why women are still taken less seriously by men, and what we can do about it
by Mary Ann Sieghart
In The Authority Gap , journalist Mary Ann Sieghart provides a startling perspective on the gender bias at work in our everyday lives and reflected in the world around us, whether in pop culture, media, school classrooms, or politics With precision and insight, Sieghart marshals a wealth of data from a variety of disciplines including psychology, sociology, political science, and business and talks to pioneering women like Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo, renowned classicist Mary Beard, U S Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and Hillary Clinton She speaks with women from a range of backgrounds to explore how gender bias intersects with race and class biases
The Night Circus by
Erin Morgenstern
The circus arrives without warning No announcements precede it It is simply there, when yesterday it was not Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors
READING READING NEWSLETTER
Summer Term 2025
InterviewwithanAuthor
Anthony Horowitz
About The Author:
Anthony Horowitz is the author of the number one bestselling 'Alex Rider' books and 'The Power of Five' series He has enjoyed huge success as a writer for both children and adults, most recently with the latest adventure in the Alex Rider series, Secret Weapon and the highly acclaimed Sherlock Holmes novel, The House of Silk His latest novel, Moriarty, is also set in the world of Sherlock Holmes Anthony was chosen by the Ian Fleming estate to write the new James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis which was published in 2015 Anthony has won numerous awards, including the Bookseller Association/Nielsen Author of the Year Award, the Children's Book of the Year Award at the British Book Awards, and the Red House Children's Book Award In 2014 Anthony was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature He has also created and written many major television series, including Injustice, Collision and the award-winning Foyle's War
About The Book:
In the number one bestselling series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is forcibly recruited into the deadly world of espionage and sent on his first mission. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger, and in demand again by MI6. The ever popular Alex Rider series has action, adrenaline and adventure at every turn.
Scan the QR Code for an interview with Anthony Horowitz.
Hear his thoughts on his internationally bestselling book series Alex Rider and its recent TV series.
READING READING NEWSLETTER
Summer Term 2025
Student Work
CREATIVE WRITING
Penny: V Group
Story name: Breaking the Mold
Penny from V Group has created a brilliant fictional narrative, here is a part of that story
I hear the chatter of the other students all around me although I can't make out wha saying it is just noise I can feel the glare of the fluorescent lights and the stuffiness of the classroom "Charlotte, are you alright?" I hear my teacher Miss Wilson ask although her voice sounds distant I nod in reply even though my brain was saying no, I need to get out of the classroom and go somewhere quieter, but it would be too embarrassing to leave the classroom because everyone would look at me "Ok then I will leave you to it but just to let you know you only have 15 minutes left of the day," she said in her soft kind voice I like Miss Wilson because she is very understanding and lets me do things in a way that makes sense to me She has kind looking blue eyes and blonde hair that falls just below her waist which she sometimes ties up in a bun or ponytail and she always wears colourful dresses and smiles at everyone She is my favourite teacher that I have had in primary school I try to continue with my maths work, but I find it hard to concentrate with all the noise Suddenly the bell screeches and everyone packs up their stuff and leaves the classroom I wait behind for a few minutes to avoid the crowds in the corridor That is the advice my big sister Amelia gave me a couple of years ago It is Friday today so the rush will be even worse I pack up my pencil case and put it into my forest green school bag and grab my fox cuddly toy who I named Harry I am not sure why I named him that, but it stuck I found him in a museum gift shop last year and bought him Now he comes everywhere with me, and I can't be in school without him now or I get really anxious I leave the school building and see my sister waiting for me at the gates and I instantly smile She is seventeen and has light brown wavy hair which comes down to her hips, brown eyes and rosy cheeks "Hello, you ”
AUTHOR : CRESSIDA COWELL
Lola from II Group has written a lovely story and here is a short excerpt
Lola: II Group
Forced to Fit In, Born to Stand Out
It was a cold, wet summer’s evening in June and as the clocks struck 9pm and the sun began to set, breaking open the heart of the sky, streaks of pink and orange light shone through, painting the night for all of England to see And what a sight it was Hattie scraped her hand over the window ledge until she found the keyhole As she lifted up the window, she could feel the cool breeze on her face and the summertime air taste on her tongue Slowly and carefully, she scrambled through the window, clambering up onto the top of the roof From up here, she felt free and light, looking down on all below her She could just about make out her primary school and the fountain of the town’s centre park, glistening in the night sky
Tracing her fingertips over the brickwork she lay upon, she had a sudden idea
As quickly as possible, she climbed back in the house and raced down the hallway, stopping outside her
READING READING NEWSLETTER
Summer Term 2025
We are proud of all of our students and their reading progress.
We wanted to share some highlights from January-March which our KS3 students achieved...
Sparx
Sparx
READING READING NEWSLETTER
Escape Into a Book This Summer!
Summer Reading Challenge
Can you complete each of these before September?
Tick off as many as you can and show us your amazing summer reading journey in September!
�� Read a book set in another country
�� Read a mystery or thriller
�� Read a book that makes you laugh
�� Read a book with a strange or magical character
�� Recommend a book to a friend
�� Read outdoors for 30 minutes
�� Read a graphic novel or comic
�� Listen to an audiobook
�� Read a classic story or retelling
�� Read before bed every night for a week
✍ Write a short review of something you read
�� Read a book just because you like the cover Bonus Challenge:
Take a photo of yourself reading in an unusual (but safe!) place and bring it in to share!
