Reading Culture

Reading Culture at Buckler’s Mead Academy

Our Ambition - Reading at the Heart of BMA

At BMA, we believe that the teaching of reading is fundamental to every student’s success, understanding, and appreciation of the world around them. Reading provides a platform for students to explore perspectives beyond their own, experience different cultures, and acquire the vocabulary needed to communicate effectively. Our reading programme supports students in developing a lifelong love of reading while continually improving their accuracy, fluency, and confidence.

We are ambitious for our readers. We intentionally cultivate the habits and behaviours of discerning readers—encouraging students to read widely and frequently, use effective self-regulation strategies, and engage in thoughtful discussions about what they have read. These essential components provide the breadth of opportunity students need to become fluent, enthusiastic, and critical readers.

Regular reading is vital. As students read more, their fluency, stamina, and comprehension naturally strengthen. This improvement increases their enjoyment of reading, creating a powerful cycle where motivation and pleasure reinforce each other. Research shows that reading for pleasure enhances not only academic outcomes but also wellbeing and overall engagement in learning. For this reason, we are committed to nurturing independent reading and building a community of enthusiastic, engaged readers. Our ambition is that all students are reading at, or above, their chronological reading age by the end of Year 9, enabling them to access all Key Stage 4 texts with confidence.

Reading is truly at the heart of our school: we are a reading community. Daily reading sessions are woven into the structure of the school day, reflecting our commitment to developing confident, capable, and curious readers. We strive for excellence by ensuring that reading is prioritised not only in English lessons but across the wider curriculum and in the everyday life of the school.

Reading across the Curriculum

Developing Language and Vocabulary
We are committed to ensuring that every student can confidently access the language of the curriculum. We recognise that certain vocabulary carries powerful ideas and concepts, and without a strong understanding of this language, students may struggle to engage deeply with texts and subject content. Our goal is to close this vocabulary gap so all learners can thrive.

To support this, Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary is carefully and purposefully sequenced across all subjects. Within our Learning Cycle, the Engage phase focuses on introducing and exploring key vocabulary, ensuring it is taught in meaningful contexts and woven into students’ broader knowledge and schemas.

One of the most effective ways to strengthen vocabulary is through studying the morphology and etymology of words. As around 90% of English words have Latinate or classical roots, we explicitly teach Year 7 students the meanings of common prefixes, suffixes, and root words. This approach continues throughout the curriculum, ensuring consistent and explicit vocabulary instruction in every lesson.

Fostering a Love of Reading
Inspiring a love of reading is one of our core principles. Our English and Drama departments organise annual trips for students to experience professional performances of key texts such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, A Christmas Carol, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. These enriching experiences complement our vibrant whole-school productions, which have recently included Legally Blonde, We Will Rock You, Grease and Treasure Island.

Read to Succeed

“Reading in tutor time allows us to bond and have a commonality between us. It expands our views of culture and self-identity”

- Year 10 Tutee

Reading at the Heart of Learning
Learning to read is one of the most important skills a student will ever develop and is central to unlocking academic excellence. Because reading underpins every area of the curriculum, we invest significant energy in ensuring every child becomes a confident, capable reader. Equally, we aim to nurture a genuine love of reading, encouraging students not only to learn how to read but to choose to read for pleasure.

Understanding Our Students’ Starting Points
We work closely with our feeder primary schools—many of which use the Read Write Inc. programme—to gain a clear understanding of pupils’ reading foundations. Each year, we complete a fact-finding exercise to review the phonics schemes, texts, and interventions students have experienced before joining us.

Assessing and Supporting Reading Development
At the beginning and towards the end of each academic year, all students sit the NGRT Reading Comprehension test. These results, alongside SATs and CATs data, help our Learning Support and English Departments to identify students who may benefit from additional help.

To further understand reading ability, all KS3 students are assessed using the Rasinski Fluency Rubric. We provide a range of tailored interventions, including:

Read Write Inc. phonics support for our weakest readers
Reciprocal reading groups for small-group comprehension development
Read to Succeed, our daily whole-school reading programme
Guided re-reading of GCSE texts at KS4 for students who need a second exposure to strengthen fluency
Daily Reading Plus sessions

Read to Succeed: Our Whole-School Reading Programme
Read to Succeed takes place in tutor groups each day and is centrally structured, with common resources and PowerPoints to guide delivery. Using evidence-informed approaches, students have opportunities to practise their reading deliberately through choral, echo, and paired reading techniques, all designed to build fluency.

Our book selections—spanning fiction and non-fiction, modern and classic texts—are intentionally challenging, broadening students’ understanding of the world and taking them beyond their comfort zones. This reflects the thinking of literacy experts such as Alex Quigley and the authors of Text Complexity: Raising Rigour in Reading, who emphasise the importance of productive struggle in building resilient and successful readers.

Celebrating and Enriching Reading
To promote excellence, we host an annual public reading competition involving the entire school, with top performers progressing through successive rounds to a grand final judged by external guests. Students are also recognised for their commitment and achievement in Read to Succeed during end-of-year assemblies.

We value opportunities for students to engage with real writers and creators. Recent author visits and workshops have featured Ele Fountain, Martin Brown (illustrator of Horrible Histories), and journalists from The Guardian, among others.

Our Library: A Hub for Reading
Our newly refurbished library offers an extensive range of books and is open during break and lunchtime for browsing and borrowing. Students can join the library team or work towards bronze, silver, and gold reading award badges by completing a series of reading challenges.

Every student is expected to carry a novel as part of their daily equipment, and each form group visits the library on a rolling schedule. We also run an annual Trust Book Club to bring enthusiastic readers together across our school community.