Y7 Reading Success 
All Year 7 students have one English lesson each week devoted to individual reading. During this lesson they are helped to choose appropriate books and encouraged to read at home.
To give their reading some structure, all students work towards bronze, silver and gold awards.
1) For the Bronze Award, students have to read 5 books by 5 different authors and complete a short written activity for each book. We expect most Year 7 students to gain this award. The focus of the silver award is wider reading.
2) For the Silver Award, students have to read 10 books from different genres and complete a short written activity for each book.
3) The focus of the Gold Award is literary merit. To gain the Gold Award students must read 10 books chosen from a list of recommended books and complete a short activity for each book.
Only a few students gain Gold award each year. I am pleased to congratulate Lily and Kyoko both from 7T who have completed their Gold Award.
Here is a poem that Kyoko wrote about one of the books she read for the Gold Award. The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson is a mystery story. The young detective is a boy whose life is severely restricted by OCD.
The Goldfish Boy
My name is the goldfish boy
Some people think I’m mad.
I love sparkling clean surfaces
It’s really not that bad.
I sit at my window,
Watching the world go by.
And sometimes when I’m particularly bored,
My mouth lets out a little sigh.
I notice things other people don’t,
Especially on my street.
Like when Mr Charles from number 2
Forgot to dress his feet.
The secret box under my bed,
Isn’t as cool as you think.
A box of gloves to fight the germs,
Unlike the spooky hidden stink.
I’ll clean all day with no reason
Till I'm completely satisfied.
Sometimes when it’s just too much
I’ll close my eyes and say, “I tried”
My name is the goldfish boy,
I wasn’t always like this.
But when my poor sister died,
My life fell into a deep abyss.
Well done!
Susan Green
Librarian
