WSE Reading Challenge: 100 books in 5 years

We challenge students to read a selection of 100 books before they leave Wyvern St Edmund’s at the end of year 11. Why? Well, there are many reasons why we think reading is important for our young people; many claims have been made about the power of reading - from an increase in volunteering and charitable giving to an increased tendency to vote. However, there's two key reasons why reading is especially important to us here at Wyvern St Edmund's: our GRACE values of aspiration and empathy.

Aspiration. People who read widely, and develop the habit of reading, increase their vocabulary and knowledge of the world which helps to open doors to them - we want as many doors as possible to be open to our students in the future so that they can achieve their aspirations and become the best version of themselves.

Empathy. Reading is one of the ways we can become more empathetic - something we think is really important. Aristotle said that when we watch a tragedy two emotions predominate: pity (for the character) and fear (for yourself). Without noticing, we imagine what it's like to be the characters that we are reading about and compare their reactions to situations with how we responded in the past, or imagine we might in the future.

Students can read the books in any order but it is important that they record the date that they finish each book and ask a parent or carer to sign to confirm that they have read it. For every three books read, their booklets will be stamped and reading reward points awarded on Class Charts. When students complete each booklet, they will be invited to a celebration breakfast with Mrs Henderson. There’s a very special reward for students who read all 100 books.

We are launching our WSE Reading Challenge in Term 6 so that students can get a head start over the Summer. We extend this challenge to our upcoming year 7 students, joining us in September, who we encourage to get started with the year 7 booklet. You can find virtual copies of the booklets below, these will be printed in September so please keep a note of any books that you have read and when you finished them.
 

Year 7 BookletYear 8 Booklet  

Year 9 BookletYear 10 Booklet     Year 11 Booklet