Book Club And Book Award Shadow Group

Book clubs offer immense value to students by fostering a love for reading, enhancing character development, communication, and social skills, boosting confidence, broadening horizons, and cultivating a sense of belonging within the school community.

Book clubs are offered to students in year 7, 8 and 9. Each week students read and discuss a couple of chapters, regarding not only their general opinions and thoughts about the texts and characters, but also the wider themes. There have been some amazingly insightful discussions on morality, justice, and family, and even some debates based around the characters' choices and actions and social issues such as poverty.

This year in our book clubs have been reading David Almond's My Dad's a Birdman, Bali Rai's The Harder They Fall, and Simon Mayo's Blame. Year 7 and 8 students will both be moving on to other texts in term two: Frank Cottrell-Boyce's Noah's Gold, chosen due to its popularity with students last year, and Michael Morpurgo's Alone on A Wide, Wide Sea.

North East Book Award

Next term our Year 9 and 10 students will become part of the NEBA Shadowing Book Club which invites students to delve into a carefully curated selection of books nominated for the prestigious awards. This unique program encourages students to explore a diverse range of literature, fostering a love for reading and critical thinking skills. As students read through the nominated books, they not only embark on thrilling journeys crafted by talented authors but also gain a deeper understanding of literary elements and storytelling techniques.

The highlight of the NEBA Shadowing Book Club is the opportunity for students to cast their votes for their favourite book, contributing to the selection of the ultimate winner. This empowers our young readers, allowing them to voice their opinions and develop a sense of agency in the world of literature. This is an inspiring literary adventure, where our students will become an integral part of the North East Book Awards. The book club will begin in January and the votes will be cast in April.