Delta Academies Trust believes that reading is central to the development of our students and has implemented ‘Reading Routes’ for all its secondary academies to encourage as many students as possible to read for pleasure. A key aim of our ‘Reading Routes’ initiative is to foster a love of reading for leisure and pleasure whilst widening the cultural experiences of our students and ultimately broadening their learning beyond the core curriculum.
Academies and students have reacted with excitement at the launch of ‘Reading Routes’ and have already started to enjoy the books on our routes. In addition, students have embraced the programme as they immerse themselves into a variety of different books that they previously might not have envisioned themselves reading. Whilst helping to improve their confidence and self-esteem through developing their reading skills. Reading Routes has also strengthened the school community through a shared reading experience.
As part of the nine main reading routes, students will be exposed to a range of genres:
- Comedy central
- Crime & Mystery
- History
- Adventure
- Thriller
- Fantasy
- Must Read Classics
- Humour
- Mystery
In addition, we have several specialised optional routes for our students to explore:
- Explorer
- Sport
- Development
- Inspiration/Aspiration
- Environment
Not only do our book choices encourage students to engage with genres they might not usually find themselves reading, but they will also be exposed to unfamiliar topics to broaden their understanding of the world around them. It is important that our books choices, in the form of both fiction and non-fiction books, reflect the range and interest of our students.
As part of the Reading Routes programme, there is a route map, based on the London Tube Map, which consists of 14 different routes (genres), with around 74 books in total along the routes. Each route interconnects and travels through the local area to meet with other Delta secondary academies.
Across each half term, students see the launch of a different route genre with 6 specified book titles which students will chose from. Concurrently, staff are also reading a book from each route to further encourage discussions and build a sense of community based around reading. The act of collaborative reading has created further engagement for our students as they find a network of staff and students who are also reading the same book. This collaboration has allowed us to explore the titles in detail through form leaning time, assemblies and by making a connection with our books’ authors.
As a further reward, students are given personalised certificates for every 5 books they read, and each route they complete. If they achieve a magnificent 50 books, they receive a tablet device. Currently, there are several students well on course to achieve this in the coming months!