Angela Young, Senior Lead for Teaching and Learning, highlights the joy and impact of reading for pleasure at Richmond House School:
“As we embark on another exciting term, I’d like to highlight something close to our hearts here at Richmond House – reading for enjoyment. Encouraging a love for reading isn’t only about developing literacy skills; it’s about opening doors to new worlds, ideas, and perspectives. Whether it’s reading a favourite story independently, listening to someone else bring a tale to life, or sharing a book aloud with others, each experience with reading offers profound benefits.
Reading for pleasure enhances vocabulary, boosts comprehension, and sharpens focus, but it also fosters empathy and creativity. Listening to stories read aloud allows children to experience the rhythm and excitement of language, while reading to others encourages them to express themselves confidently and make personal connections to the text. In every form, reading helps children to relax, spark their imagination, and develop a lifelong love of learning.
To celebrate this love of reading, Headteacher Mrs Young will soon be inviting to her office pupils who have shown excellent progress in their reading. This special recognition, nominated by their teachers, is a wonderful opportunity for pupils to talk about their favourite books and perhaps read a short passage to Mrs Young, allowing us to celebrate their achievements together.
Building on the success of last year’s reading challenge, we are also delighted to have launched this year’s Richmond House Reading Challenge. This initiative was a wonderful motivator last year, encouraging pupils to explore new genres, discuss books with their friends and teachers, and simply enjoy the process of getting lost in a story. We’re looking forward to seeing how far our pupils will go this year as they take on new reading goals and discover even more stories to love.”
