Literacy

‘Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realise his or her full potential.’ 

Kofi Annan 

At St Mary's we are proudly a reading school. We recognise that literacy is fundamental to all areas of learning as it allows all students to access the curriculum effectively and we work hard to promote the joy of reading for all students.

Regular opportunities for whole school reading are built into school life, with form time reading each week for all year groups and the Great Big Read every half term. In addition to this, all students in Years 7 and 8 take part in the Accelerated Reader programme and our skilled Librarian and teaching staff across all subjects provide a range of engaging opportunities for students to strengthen their love of reading.

Where students have not yet achieved the expected literacy standards at any key stage, we offer targeted support to help them develop as readers. This includes tailored intervention for reading fluency and phonics, as well as one-to-one interventions led by student leaders, curriculum pathways adaptations such as Extra English and Mastery, and other interventions and adaptations required to meet a child's need.