Research points to a range of personal and academic advantages:

• It can greatly influence test scores in maths, spelling and vocabulary (Sullivan and Brown, 2013). In fact, reading achievement can have a positive impact on attainment across the curriculum.
• Positive associations between all students’ out-of-school reading engagement and their information text comprehension in school have been documented.
• Regular reading improves general knowledge, encourages a richer vocabulary and increase accuracy in spelling.
• Reading aloud is seen to influence young people’s attitudes, motivation and engagement as readers. It also contributes to enhanced reading attainment; in one study, on average students made 16 months progress over a 12-week period.
• It can improve capacity for comprehension (Cox and Guthrie, 2001) and instil a greater pleasure in reading later in life.
• Reading allows young people to gather information about the world and how they fit in to it, encouraging empathy, mindfulness and self-confidence.
• It can strengthen, challenge or alter the ways in which young people see the world and engage with it, how they develop relationships and bond with peers.

Here in the LRC, we work hard to ensure we keep our stock as up to date and relevant for the broad range of readers we have. As a result, we have already bought in approximately 100 books this year. Borrowing remains consistently high, with very little difference in library usage between boys and girls. We are particularly proud of this statistic as nationally there is usually a large gender gap in reading habits.

My reading journey started aged 13 with ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ and I have never looked back. Since then, I have always had a book on the go. That’s a substantial number of years, more than I care to admit! I have read books that have made me cry, laugh and cringe. I have read books that I can feel, hear and smell as the characters do, living every moment with them (Diana Gabaldon – Outlander series if you are interested). This passion for reading is something we would like all our students to develop so they too can enjoy the enrichment it will bring to their lives, wellbeing and confidence.

Please remind students that we are here to support them and will gladly help them select appropriate books. Alternatively, if parents would like to make an appointment to visit the LRC with their children after school, I would be happy to facilitate this at a mutually convenient time. Please email me at L.Ferguson@WarlinghamTLT.co.uk if I can be of assistance.

Louise Ferguson
LRC Coordinator