By Emma Jones, Head of English
As part of our series exploring academic life at Sherborne House, we are continuing to share insights into the thinking and purpose behind our curriculum. Through these blogs, our teachers take a closer look at different areas of learning, helping parents to understand not only what we teach, but how and, importantly, why. Together, they offer a window into the purposeful choices we make to inspire curiosity, build strong foundations and equip our children with the skills and confidence they need for whatever comes next.
This time, our focus turns to reading – and few areas of learning have such far-reaching importance. Reading is not confined to the English classroom; it is one of the keys that unlocks the wider curriculum. From interpreting a mathematical problem and investigating a historical source to researching a scientific question, confidence in reading enables children to access knowledge, explore ideas and pursue their own curiosity.
Yet at Sherborne House, our ambition goes further still. Alongside developing skilled, confident readers, we want children to experience the sheer pleasure of finding a book they simply cannot put down.
Inspiring a Love of Reading: Unlocking Academic Success
There is something special about seeing a child completely absorbed in a book. Whether they are exploring a magical world, discovering fascinating facts or laughing aloud at a favourite character, reading for pleasure can open doors far beyond the pages of a story. It can spark a new interest, inspire a question or introduce a child to an idea, place or perspective they may never have encountered before.
At Sherborne House School, we believe that developing confident readers is only part of our role. We also want our children to become enthusiastic readers: children who are curious about books, talk about what they are reading and, most importantly, choose to read because they enjoy it. Just as importantly, we want every child to discover what being a reader means for them.
Knowing our children as individuals is an important part of this. The book that captures one child’s imagination may be completely different from the one that inspires another – and that is something to celebrate. By understanding children’s interests, strengths and enthusiasms, we can help to put the right books into the right hands at the right time.
But how can we foster that love of reading, both at school and at home? And does reading for pleasure really make a difference to children’s academic success?
How can I encourage my child to read?
One of the most important things we can do is help children see reading as a pleasure rather than simply another task to complete. We want children to feel that reading is something they get to do, rather than something they simply have to do.
Let them choose. Children do not always need to be reading the longest or most challenging book on the shelf. Graphic novels, poetry, non-fiction, magazines, joke books and familiar favourites all have a place in developing a lifelong reader. Following a child’s interests can often be the key to finding the book that hooks them. Choice gives children ownership, and that ownership can be incredibly powerful in developing positive reading habits.
Keep sharing books. Reading aloud together remains valuable even as children become independent readers. Taking turns to read, sharing a bedtime story or simply talking about a book gives children opportunities to encounter new vocabulary, make predictions and share their opinions. These conversations matter too. Asking questions such as “What do you think?”, “Why?” or “What might happen next?” helps children to articulate their ideas and recognise that their response to a text has value.
Be a reading role model. Children learn from what they see around them. Seeing adults enjoying a book, visiting libraries and bookshops together, and talking positively about reading all help to create an environment in which books are valued.
Most importantly, keep it enjoyable. Ten happy minutes sharing a book can be far more powerful than a lengthy reading session that has become a battle. A lifelong relationship with reading is built over time, one positive experience at a time.
How does Sherborne House School promote reading for pleasure?
Creating enthusiastic readers requires more than teaching children how to read. At Sherborne House School, we aim to create a culture in which books and reading are visible, celebrated and shared throughout school life. Reading is woven through our curriculum because it underpins so much of the children’s learning, but we are equally passionate about protecting time for reading simply for the joy of it.
Over the past year, we have introduced our 40 Golden Reads for each year group. These collections have been specially selected by our teachers to introduce children to a rich and varied range of high-quality books. The selections expose children to different authors, genres and experiences, while still giving them the freedom to discover their own preferences as readers. Each Golden Read is marked with its own golden sticker, and children are encouraged to read as many as possible throughout the year, completing an activity to share their understanding and response to each book.
The aim is not simply to reach 40. We want children to broaden their reading diet, discover new authors and genres and, perhaps most importantly, stumble across a book they simply cannot put down. For one child, that might be an adventure story; for another, mythology, poetry, a graphic novel or a book about space. There is no single route to becoming a reader.
September 2026 also saw the opening of our brand-new Library Cabin, providing a cosy and welcoming space where children can browse, share and enjoy books. Having an inviting space dedicated to books reinforces a simple message: reading is something to treasure and enjoy. It is a space designed to invite children in – to browse without pressure, make recommendations to one another and perhaps pick up something they might never have previously considered.
Reading is also a wonderfully social experience. Our timetabled Reading Buddies’ sessions bring younger and older pupils together to share books and hear one another read. Younger children benefit from the encouragement of an older reading role model, while older pupils relish the responsibility of sharing stories and their enthusiasm for books.
These sessions reflect something we value greatly at Sherborne House: children learning not only alongside one another, but from one another. Alongside reading fluency, they build confidence, connection and a sense of responsibility.
Throughout the year, children can also take part in after-school book clubs, available to different age groups each term. These allow children to experience reading in different contexts – discussing stories, discovering new books and sharing recommendations with friends. For children with a particular passion for books, they also provide another opportunity to take that interest further.
Sometimes, though, the best way to encourage reading is simply to make time for it. During our Golden Reading Time, children and teachers stop everything, pick up a book and read purely for pleasure. Seeing the adults around them enjoying books sends an important message to our pupils: reading is not simply a school skill or something children are asked to practise; it can be a lifelong source of enjoyment. When the whole school pauses to read together, reading becomes part of our shared culture.
We also love celebrating the big moments in our reading calendar. World Book Day provides an opportunity for the whole school to come together to celebrate stories, characters and authors. Last year, we were delighted to welcome children’s author Ali Sparkes to Sherborne House, giving pupils the exciting opportunity to meet an author and discover more about the imagination and creativity behind the books they read.
Experiences such as these help children to see books not simply as finished products on a shelf, but as the result of ideas, creativity, perseverance and imagination.
Through our Golden Reads, Library Cabin, visits to our local Chandler’s Ford library, Reading Buddies, book clubs, Golden Reading Time and special events, our aim is simple: to surround children with books and give them as many opportunities as possible to discover the joy of reading. Behind each of these initiatives is a purposeful decision: to create an environment in which reading is valued, talked about and enjoyed every day.
Does reading help academic success?
The evidence gives us a very good reason to keep putting books into children’s hands.
Research from the National Literacy Trust has found a significant relationship between reading enjoyment and reading skill. In its 2024 research, children aged 8–14 who said that they enjoyed reading had significantly higher average standardised reading scores than those who did not. Children who read daily also had significantly higher average reading scores than those who did not read every day.
The benefits can reach beyond English too. Long-term research from the UCL Institute of Education found that children who frequently read for pleasure made greater progress in vocabulary and mathematics between the ages of 10 and 16 than those who read less often, even when researchers took factors such as social background into account.
Why might that be? Every time children open a book, they encounter new vocabulary, increasingly complex sentence structures, different perspectives and unfamiliar ideas. They practise making connections, interpreting information, imagining possibilities and thinking critically. They question, predict, infer, reflect and articulate their thinking – learning behaviours that have value far beyond the pages of the book in front of them.
This is where reading connects so closely with our wider approach to learning at Sherborne House. Through the Our Story skills for learning, we encourage children to develop a versatile skillset: to question, connect, reflect, articulate their ideas and take increasing ownership of their learning. Reading provides countless opportunities to practise exactly these behaviours.
These skills reach across the curriculum. A confident reader is better equipped to understand a maths problem, investigate a scientific concept, explore a historical source or research a geographical question. Reading does not solely fit within the English curriculum; it helps to unlock learning across the school.
Building readers for life
At Sherborne House School, our ambition is not simply to teach children to read successfully for their next assessment or their next stage of education. Of course, we want our children to be academically ambitious and exceptionally well-prepared for what comes next, but our aspirations for them extend beyond any single assessment. We want to help create readers for life.
Academic success matters, but a love of reading offers something even bigger. Books can help children understand experiences beyond their own, develop empathy, discover new interests, satisfy their curiosity and find comfort, excitement and joy. They can also provide the spark for an enquiring mind – the beginning of a question, a fascination or an interest that a child may carry with them far beyond their time at Sherborne House.
So, whether your child is racing through their latest novel, engrossed in a football fact book, giggling at a comic or asking you to read the same bedtime story for what feels like the hundredth time, it all counts.
Our goal is not for every child at Sherborne House to love the same books; it is to give every child the opportunity to find the books they love.
Because sometimes, helping a child become a reader begins with something very simple: finding the book they don’t want to put down.
Would you like to discover more about life at Sherborne House? We would be delighted to welcome you for a private tour of our school, where you can see our approach to learning in action, explore our facilities and ask any questions you may have. Enquire about a tour.
