As a trust, FCAT has always been passionate about books and fully committed to improving the reading of all of our students while they are with us. We work closely with other schools in our trust to ensure that reading continues to be at the forefront of everything we do and that our students are all given the opportunity to read as many texts as possible!
School timetables ensure that thirty minute daily reading lessons are given to students so they can read and enjoy more books with their reading tutor. Teachers have carefully selected books that they think students will enjoy and that will broaden their experience and knowledge as much as possible. Most of the time the teacher will read while the text is followed, although there are opportunities for keen readers to read to their class. The definition of a literary canon is a group of books that are considered to be valuable; FCAT firmly believes that this selection of books will really help improve both the reading and the general knowledge of our students.
Below is the list of books that we will be reading together this year-
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Year 7 - The first children's book from Times journalist, two-time Olympian and best-selling mindset author Matthew Syed, it uses examples of successful people from Mozart to Serena Williams to demonstrate that success really is earned rather than given, and that talent can be acquired. With hard work and determination, practice and self-belief, and, most importantly, a Growth Mindset, there's no reason why anyone can't achieve anything. |
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Year 7 - First published in 1954, this novel is now regarded as a classic; a compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a desert island. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun, but this is short lived as the island turns into a nightmarish and primitive world of panic and death. |
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Year 7 - This story about a girl who is obsessed with books, will take students on a journey into Nazi Germany in 1939. Liesel’s family have been taken away to a concentration camp and she is living with a foster family. This is the story about the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall, told from the perspective of a very unusual narrator….. |
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Year 7 - The Spook's Apprentice is the first book in Joseph Delaney's terrifying Wardstone Chronicles - over 3 million copies sold worldwide!' Someone has to stand against the dark. And you're the only one who can. For years, the local Spook has been keeping the County safe from evil. |
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Year 8 - This novel is a murder mystery story like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christoper is fifteen and has Asperger’s, a form of autism. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets off on a terrifying journey that will turn his whole world upside down. |
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Year 8 - Told in the form of a diary, Sue Townsend’s young adult novel The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (1982) details the existence and struggles of the titular British boy who, fancying himself an intellectual, often misunderstands the events surrounding him. |
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Year 8 - Anne Frank wrote her diary until her family were betrayed and caught by the Nazis in occupied Holland in 1942. Just 13 years old at the time, Anne invites us to share her lengthy isolation and gives us an insight into her personality and spirited view of life! |
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Year 9 - The best selling memoir of youngest ever Nobel Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, the girl who was shot by the Taliban on the way to school. This autobiography will inspire and inform in equal measure, as students learn about life in a very different world. |
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Year 9 - In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewed version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, as an adult, this story is an account of her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends. |
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Year 9 - Young, handsome and fabulously rich, Jay Gatsby is the bright star of the Jazz Age. His parties are legendary, his reputation mixed. This novel explores the idea of the American Dream and poses some complex questions about love, social class and morality. |
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Year 10 - This classic novel, written by Mary Shelley in 1819, has moved beyond the text to become part of popular culture. Weaving together the scientific developments of her time into her own personal experiences of love, life and travel, she has created one of the most enduring stories of our time. This book will give students the opportunity to enjoy one of the earliest examples of science fiction while learning more about a range of issues. |
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Year 10 - This haunting vision of the future, tells the story of Offred, living in the Republic of Gilead. As a female, her only function is to breed. If she refuses, she will be hung or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. Offred’s journey is one of isolation and fear but ultimately bravery in the face of oppression. |
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Year 10 - Bill Bryson recently took the decision to move back to the States but before leaving his much loved home in North Yorkshire he took one last trip around Britain. This travelogue aims to take stock of the nation’s public face and private parts, and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about the UK. |
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Year 10 - This is a collection of over one hundred of the world’s most entertaining, inspiring and unusual letters. From Queen Elizabeth II’s recipe for drop scones sent to the president of America to the first recorded use of the expression “OMG” in a letter to Winston Churchill. From Leonardo da Vinci’s job application letter to Gandhi’s appeal for calm to Hilter….this collection explores some key historical moments while capturing the essence of humanity. |
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In year 10 students will also read a range of articles and non-fiction texts to broaden their understanding of the society they live in. These texts are carefully chosen to provoke analytical thinking, challenge and discussion. |
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Year 10 - Where the Crawdads Sing is part bildungsroman and part crime drama, centred around Kya, a wild and unkempt girl. The book follows the ups and downs of her life. She lives a lonely life, but her story is a hopeful one as well. With a little help, she's able to survive and even learn to read. |
Our English curriculum continues to promote reading with a dedicated canon. These texts have been selected to provide an engaging and broad range of books which students access within lessons. Students are encouraged to use reading strategies, such as activating prior knowledge, prediction and questioning to improve students’ comprehension.
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| Year 7 | Gothic inspired • ‘The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories’ Paperback – by Michael Cox • ‘The Ghost of Thomas Kempe’ by Penelope Lively • ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’ plays. • Brothers Grimm Fairytales • ‘The Woman in Black’ |
Historical • ‘War Horse’ by Michael Morpurgo • ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’ Michelle Magorian • ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ John Boyne • ‘Billy’s Blitz’ Barbara Mitchell-Hill |
Real life encounters |
| Year 8 | American Literature • ‘Of Mice & Men’ John Steinbeck • ‘ The Outsiders’ SE Hinton |
Fantasy • ‘Harry Potter….’JK Rowling • ‘Northern Lights’ Phillip Pullman • ‘The Hobbit’ JRR Tolkien • ‘Spooks’ Apprentice’ Joseph Delaney |
Detective Fiction |
| Year 9 | Historical /Cultural • Joan Lingard- ‘Across the Barricades’ • Joan Lingard- ‘The Twelfth of July’ • ‘Abomination’ R. Swindells |
Seminal World Literature • ‘Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry’ Mildred D Taylor |
Dystopian Fiction • ‘Fahrenheit 451’ Ray Bradbury • ‘Noughts & Crosses’ Malorie Blackman • ‘The Hunger Games’ Suzanne Collins |