Reading
Reading at Harborne Academy
At Harborne Academy, we believe reading is the most important skill students must develop during their time with us. We have a rich reading culture, essential not only to ensure students become skilled and confident readers, but also for them to acquire a love of reading that will last a lifetime.
Whether in print or on screen, the curriculum remains dominated by a wide range of texts that our students must access and take meaning from. Beyond academic success, being a successful reader yields many other benefits, including developing knowledge, creativity, empathy, self-expression, understanding of self and others, physical and mental health, economic well-being, the ability to interact socially and to relax.
At the heart of the academy is our wonderful library that holds a huge range of wonderful books with something for everyone. There are reading clubs and calendared events such as Roald Dahl Day, World Book Day, National Poetry Day and National Writing Day, to celebrate a love of reading and its importance to our lives, past, present and future.
The academic year beings with all students in Years 7 and 8 having a book of their choice purchased for them while, each week, our elusive ‘Book Ninja’ selects a lucky student to receive a book voucher.
In recent years we have welcomed many authors and illustrators to Harborne, such as Bali Ray, Patrice Lawrence, Linda Newbery, Tom Palmer, Hunt Emerson, Sufiya Ahmed, Liam Brown, Matt Windle, Martin Impey and Jessica Mikhail.
Literature is brought to life through regular visits to the theatre, to enjoy adaptations of books such as Animal Farm, The Color Purple, Noughts and Crosses, Private Peaceful, Frankenstein, Woman in Black, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In 2024-25, we have students going to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The National Theatre’s War Horse. There are also regular theatrical performances in school with productions such as A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls, Macbeth, Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde.
We are always looking for opportunities for other educational visits with literature at their heart. To mark World Book Day, Year 7 students visit Harry Potter World, while those in Years 8 and 9 enjoy a gothic literature tour of London. Each May, Harborne students are up early to cross the border into Wales for a visit to the world-famous Hay Festival, meeting authors amongst thousands of other avid readers. In July, Key Stage Three students enjoy a fascinating First World War history and literature tour of Belgium and France.
Gallery - Reading at Harborne
Martin Impey talking to Harborne students about the poet, Wilfred Owen
Martin Impey visiting our local primary school
Harborne Academy Student Librarians
Our librarians, celebrating the opening of our manga collection.
Poetry readings at Remembrance
The Hay Festival - Antony Horowitz
The Hay Festival - Patrice Lawrence
The Hay Festival - Phil Earle
Harborne 100 Books
World Book Day - Book Swap
World Book Day - Harry Potter Party
World Book Day - Make Your Mark
Book Ninja
English Corridor Display
WW1 History and Literature Tour of Belgium and France
Harry Potter World
Lexia Power Up
Lexia Power Up
Harborne Academy places a high priority on developing our students’ literacy skills and helping them to enjoy a love of reading.
To support students in developing the reading skills that will enable them to access and enjoy the whole curriculum, Harborne Academy has licences to use Lexia Powerup Literacy.
Lexia Powerup is a computer-based program that has helped millions of students. It is designed to help students become proficient readers, confident learners and GCSE-ready. The program is broken up into three distinct strands that students work in concurrently: Word Study, Grammar and Comprehension.
Students are able to use their Lexia licence both inside and outside school.
Lexia-Power-Up-Scope-and-Sequence.pdfHow-to-Log-on-to-Lexia-PowerUp.pdf
Reading Lists
| Subject Reading Lists | ||
| Art | Design Technology | Drama |
| English | English Plus | Food |
| French | Geography | History |
| Maths | Music | PE |
| Religious Education | Science | Spanish |
| Additional Reading Lists | |
| Black Authors and Black Experiences | Fiction for Year 7 |
| Fiction for Year 8 | Graphic Novels |
| KS2 - KS3 Transition | LGBTQI+ |
| Manga | Women-Authored Books |
100 Books
Dear reader,
Well done for trying to broaden your reading and attempting some of the ‘100 Books’!
Of course, these are not the only books you should try to read. They are in the collection because teachers across the country voted for them as being important books students should read before they leave secondary school.
Some of the books are short and can be read relatively quickly; others are much longer reads. Some of the books are accessible to most secondary students; others are quite demanding. Some books may be challenging due to the language used in them; others because of the content and subject matter they deal with.
Books that contain sensitive themes and content some people may find offensive have content warnings inside them. They may include language that was considered acceptable at the time the book was written, but would not be appropriate today, for example, racist terminology. They may also include sexual content.
To fully appreciate and enjoy some of the 100 Books, we recommend that you spend time researching the author, the book, and the context in which it was written. There are many short videos on YouTube that can support you with this research.
Don’t forget to let us know how you are getting on.
Happy reading!
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Reading Support for Parents
Supporting Your Child’s Reading
Great readers are created when there is a partnership between school and home. There is so much families can do to support their child’s reading journey, regardless of their ability or level of enthusiasm. Students are never too old to be encouraged to read so we have included some resources we hope parents and carers will find useful.
If you have any questions about supporting your child with their reading, please contact their Head of Year.
What Type of Reader is Your Child? The 8 Rs
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A Guide to the Eight Types of Reader |
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Relisher |
Reads 30 – 40 books a year |
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Regular |
Reads 10 – 15 copies a year |
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Rusher |
Reads in bursts |
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Reluctant |
Reads occasionally |
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Realist |
Lacks the focus to read novels |
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Rejecter |
Only reads if forced to |
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Rechanneler |
Distracted by the online world |
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Regretter |
Wants to read but has problems |
Vocabulary
Word of the Week
Click on a date to see the Word of the Week for that week.
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| Subject Vocabulary Lists | ||
| Art | Business GCSE | Drama |
| English | English Plus | Food |
| French | Geography | History |
| PE | Spanish | |
Vocabulary continued - Science
Science
| Science Vocabulary List - Year 7 | ||
| Introduction to Science | Life Processes and Cells | Elements |
| Energy | Reproduction | Particles |
| Forces | Botany | |
| Science Vocabulary List - Year 8 | ||
| Chemical Reactions | Electricity | Nutrition |
| Mixtures | Motion | Respiration |
| Acids and Alkalis | Waves | The Skeletal and Muscular Systems |
| Transferring Energy | ||
| Combined Science (Biology) Glossaries | ||
| CB1 Glossary | CB2 Glossary | CB3 Glossary |
| CB4 Glossary | CB5 Glossary | CB6 Glossary |
| CB7 Glossary | CB8 Glossary | CB9 Glossary |
| Combined Science (Chemistry) Glossaries | ||
| CC1-2 Glossary | CC3-4 Glossary | CC5-7 Glossary |
| CC8 Glossary | CC9 Glossary | CC10-12 Glossary |
| CC13-15 Glossary | CC16-17 Glossary | |
| Combined Science (Physics) Glossaries | ||
| CP1 Glossary | CP2 Glossary | CP3 Glossary |
| CP4 Glossary | CP5 Glossary | CP6 Glossary |
| CP7-8 Glossary | CP9 Glossary | CP10-11 Glossary |
| CP 12-13 Glossary | ||
| Triple Science (Biology) Glossaries | ||
| SB1 Glossary | SB2 Glossary | SB3 Glossary |
| SB4 Glossary | SB5 Glossary | SB6 Glossary |
| SB7 Glossary | SB8 Glossary | SB9 Glossary |
| Triple Science (Chemistry) Glossaries | ||
| SC1-2 Glossary | SC3-4 Glossary | SC5-7 Glossary |
| SC8 Glossary | SC9-13 Glossary | SC14-16 Glossary |
| SC17 Glossary | SC18 Glossary | SC19 Glossary |
| SC20-21 Glossary | SC22-24 Glossary | SC25-26 Glossary |
| Triple Science (Physics) Glossaries | ||
| SP1 Glossary | SP2 Glossary | SP3 Glossary |
| SP4 Glossary | SP5 Glossary | SP6 Glossary |
| SP7 Glossary | SP8-9 Glossary | SP10-11 Glossary |
| SP12-13 Glossary | ||
Word of the Week
