Our Friday Reading Programme is a weekly highlight where CDCs read aloud to their classes. It’s a brilliant way for students in Years 7–10 to master language; by listening to a teacher read, every student – regardless of their own reading level- gets to encounter sophisticated vocabulary and complex ideas they might find tricky to tackle alone.

It’s about more than just storytime. It’s a proven way to model expressive reading and ensure that every student, no matter their starting point, is part of the same great conversation.

We launched a full refresh of the programme in September, focusing on texts that offer high challenge and high relevance. We want the books our students encounter to be intellectually demanding, but also deeply meaningful to their lives and experiences.

Building on that successful start, we’ve recently introduced two standout titles:

• For Year 7, Jeffrey Boakye’s Kofi and the Rap Battle Summer: A sharp, rhythmic story about finding your voice.
• For Year 9, Jessie Burton’s Medusa: A sophisticated, modern reimagining of the classic myth.

Feedback from staff and students has been extremely positive, and classes are tearing through these stories and enjoying them immensely. It’s wonderful to see our classrooms so engaged with a range of fantastic literature.