Literacy Programme
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become” – Ursula K. Le Guin
At Worthing High School, we are dedicated to empowering all students to become independent, critical, and literate members of society, equipped for life beyond education. Our commitment to fostering effective reading, writing, and speaking skills lies at the heart of our curriculum.
Central to our literacy initiative is a comprehensive tutor time reading programme, comprising two teacher-led reading sessions each week. These sessions provide a secure environment for students to engage in discussions about diverse topics and global issues, whilst also nurturing curiosity and resilience alongside a profound love of reading.
Furthermore, we integrate The Day, an online news outlet for young people, into our tutor programme to promote debates that enhance oracy skills and encourage critical thinking about current events. We aspire to cultivate ambitious, capable learners who are equipped to shape a better future.
Our curriculum is meticulously designed to strengthen literacy skills, emphasising vocabulary development to enable students to articulate their thoughts effectively. To support students’ reading skills and stamina, students and staff ‘Drop Everything and Read’ their own reading book for the first ten minutes of Period Five every day. Additional initiatives include the Bedrock Vocabulary Homework programme for Years Seven and Eight which enable students to build their vocabulary knowledge, and explicit vocabulary instruction to introduce key terms and concepts across all subjects.
We have a range of interventions and a weekly Reading Buddy scheme which are beneficial for students who may require extra support.
In addition, we celebrate and promote key dates throughout the academic year including World Book Day; National Poetry Day and National Writing Day. We create a range of activities to develop our students’ creative writing skills and foster a love of reading.
Recognising excellence in literacy is also integral to our ethos, with our onsite book vending machine and reward trips for students who exceed our expectations. Through these comprehensive strategies, we ensure our students are not only literate but also 'world ready'.
Sheila Dolling and Lucia Festa
Literacy Co-ordinators
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Year 7 |
Synopsis |
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October, October by Katya Balen |
A classic in the making for anyone who ever longed to be WILD. October and her dad live in the woods. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They live in the woods and they are wild. And that's the way it is. Until the year October turns eleven. That's the year October rescues a baby owl. It's the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October's mother comes back. The year everything changes. Written in Katya Balen's heart-stoppingly beautiful style, this book is a feast for the senses. And, as October fights to find the space to be wild in the whirling chaos of the world beyond the woods, it is also a feast for the soul. |
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Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird |
His old address is rubble. His new address: who knows? Omar used to be from Syria. What does that mean now? Like most kids, Omar doesn’t care about politics. YAWN. He’s got better things to think about. But when war comes to his Syrian city – the beautiful, ancient city of Bosra – there’s no escape from politics anymore. (You’re doing well if you escape the bombs.) Before long, whole streets are flattened to rubble. People are dying. Even worse, his clever big brother, Musa, is mixed up in it all. Soon Omar and his family are forced to flee. But where do you go when you don’t have a home anymore? |
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Auggie and Me by R.J. Palacio |
(Sequel to ‘Wonder’ – book gifted to Year 6 into 7 over the summer holidays) WONDER tells the story of Auggie Pullman: an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, whose first year at school changed the lives and the perspectives of everyone around him. |
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Year 8 |
Synopsis |
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Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman |
If you found out you were dying, what might you do to stay alive? Would you swap your heart for a new one – from a pig? Cameron is thirteen, and he needs a heart transplant. But he’ll be dead before he tops the waiting list. Then a pioneering doctor makes a startling proposal. He can give Cameron a pig’s heart. It’s a weird idea. It’s risky, controversial and it’s never been done before. It could lead to public outrage. It might not even work. But Cameron has to give it a try… |
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Future Hopes Edited by Lauren James |
Skyscraper farms. Insects for dinner. Guerilla gardening. Nine authors pose ingenious and thought-provoking solutions to the climate crisis in this anthology of climate fiction. Rooted in real-world science and technology, the stories offer a roadmap for a future where our planet can thrive. From a rewilding project with unexpected consequences to a rebellion against augmented reality, these wide-ranging stories will leave the reader feeling a little less powerless in the fight to save planet Earth. |
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Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds |
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds is a ten different short stories about kids walking home from school. The ten stories are woven together by the context of a school bus falling from the sky. But no one knows because they were all too busy with their lives. |
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Year 9 |
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When the world was ours by Liz Kessler |
Three friends. One memory. Vienna. 1936.
Three young friends—Leo, Elsa, and Max—spend a perfect day together, unaware that around them Europe is descending into a growing darkness and that they will soon be cruelly ripped apart from one another. With their lives taking them across Europe—to Germany, England, Prague, and Poland—will they ever find their way back to one another? Will they want to? Inspired by a true story, When the World Was Ours is an extraordinary novel that is as powerful as it is heartbreaking and that shows how the bonds of love, family, and friendship allow glimmers of hope to flourish, even in the most hopeless of times. |
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Noah Can't Even by Simon James Greeen |
Poor Noah Grimes! His father disappeared years ago, his mother's Beyoncé tribute act is an unacceptable embarrassment, and his beloved gran is no longer herself. He only has one friend, Harry, and school is... Well, it's pure hell. Why can't Noah be normal, like everyone else at school? Maybe if he struck up a romantic relationship with someone - maybe Sophie, who is perfect and lovely - he'd be seen in a different light? But Noah's plans are derailed when Harry kisses him at a party. That's when things go from bad to utter chaos. |
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down. |
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Year 10 |
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The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G.Drews |
Can two broken boys find their perfect home? By turns heart-breaking and heart-warming, this is a gorgeously told, powerful story. Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he's ever known. Now Sam's trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he's caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing - each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie. But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him. |
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Lock the Doors |
Tom's family has moved into their dream home. But pretty soon he starts to notice that something is very wrong - there are strange messages written on the wall and locks on the bedroom doors. On the OUTSIDE. The previous owners have moved just across the road and they seem like the perfect family. |
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Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman |
In Boys Don't Cry, bestselling author Malorie Blackman explores the unchartered territory of teenage fatherhood. You're waiting for the postman - he's bringing your A level results. University, a career as a journalist - a glittering future lies ahead. But when the doorbell rings it's your old girlfriend; and she's carrying a baby. Your baby. You're happy to look after it, just for an hour or two. But then she doesn't come back - and your future suddenly looks very different. Malorie's dramatic new novel will take you on a journey from tears to laughter and back again.
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Run Rebel
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Run, Rebel is a verse novel by Manjeet Mann about Amber Rai, a young girl who loves to run and has potential as an athlete. However, Amber's life is difficult because her father is abusive and controlling, and he refuses to let her run. Amber's mother is illiterate and unable to help, and Amber's older sister Ruby feels she's sacrificed too much for family expectations. When Amber runs, it's the only time she feels free and away from her claustrophobic home life. She's ready to fight for herself, her mother, and her sister. A happy ending despite some difficult topics. |
