Reading for Pleasure
Reading for Pleasure at Whitchurch
At Whitchurch, we are committed to developing a lifelong love of reading. As part of this, we have introduced our Whitchurch Recommended Reading Lists for every year group from Reception to Year 6.
Each year group has a carefully selected list of 30 high-quality books chosen to inspire curiosity, imagination and enjoyment. The books include a wide range of authors, genres and themes so that every child can discover stories they love.
Copies of these books are available in every classroom. Children can borrow them to take home, enjoy with their families and return to school once they have finished reading. Books can be read independently or shared with an adult at home, depending on the age and reading stage of the child.
The Reading Challenge
To encourage reading for pleasure, children can take part in our Recommended Reading Challenge. As pupils read books from their year group list and complete the associated challenge in their Reading Challenge booklet, they can work towards different achievement levels:
- Bronze Award – Read 5 books
- Silver Award – Read 10 books
- Gold Award – Read 15 books
- Platinum Award – Read all 30 books
When children reach each milestone, they will receive a certificate to celebrate their achievement.
Reading for Pleasure
This initiative is designed to:
- Encourage children to read widely and explore new authors
- Promote reading beyond the classroom
- Build positive reading habits at home
- Celebrate children’s progress and achievements as readers
We encourage families to enjoy these books together and talk about the stories, characters and ideas within them.
Many of the books on the lists are popular and well-loved titles, so your child may already have some of these books at home. If this is the case, children are still encouraged to re-read the book and complete the reading challenge linked to it.
While children can work towards Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum certificates, these are simply an added incentive to celebrate reading. The aim of the initiative is not competition, but to encourage children to develop their own enjoyment of reading and choose to read independently for pleasure.
Below you will find the Recommended Reading Lists for each year group, showcasing the wonderful books our pupils are encouraged to explore.