Reading Day at Whitchurch High School

Over 380 Year 7 pupils took part in the second Whitchurch High School, UWIC Reading Day. Pupils were given the chance to read in a small group and answer questions and complete a questionnaire on their attitudes to reading. Everyone agreed a declaration that included the statements “Reading is fun, I am good at reading, I can always continue to improve my reading”. This was reinforced by Year 7 choosing potential reading books for next year and giving their views on the use of subject research methods, such as “Autology” and “Moodle”. Staff will use the information gathered by a team of PGCE students from UWIC and UWE to make sure every pupil needing help with their reading will be assisted by the school. Teachers listening to individuals read were looking to see how fluent and accurate they were in their reading and what the most common mistakes were. Everybody taking part in the Reading Day had a certificate to take home and a declaration card to remind them of their pledge to “Read everywhere and in all my subjects.”

Molly Davies of Year 7 enjoyed the day and commented: “The story was interesting…We all had to read together rather than the teacher doing all the work. I enjoyed sharing views on the story. It was good to get to choose the books in the questionnaire that we’ll read next year. The declaration card should encourage people to read more. I read a lot before but now I want to read even more.”

Jay Webb of 7L also enjoyed the day: “I liked the story and enjoyed filling in the questionnaire. I kept my declaration card.” His classmate Marshall Lewis explained, “I would like to read more books like the story we read in the Reading Day. The people helping me to read were nice and kind.”

We look forward to our next Reading Day in the Summer.