Caister high in top 25

CAISTER High School is in the top 25 of the 3,000 schools signed up to the national scheme, Accelerated Reading.Since the start of the year, new pupils have been taking part involving 160 Year 7 pupils and 145 Year 8 pupils creating a reading culture and improving literacy levels.

CAISTER High School is in the top 25 of the 3,000 schools signed up to the national scheme, Accelerated Reading.

Since the start of the year, new pupils have been taking part involving 160 Year 7 pupils and 145 Year 8 pupils creating a reading culture and improving literacy levels.

All students are tested at the start of the year to find out their “reading zone” which helps them to choose appropriate books which fit ability. They then read their choice of fiction or non-fiction books for 25 minutes (in silence) every day, in a variety of their lessons. One day they will read in maths, the next in science, the following in drama, then in ICT for example.

Once they have finished a book, they take an online quiz which immediately tells them how well they have understood some of the ideas in the book. Students who get high scores in the tests win prizes and raffle tickets for an end-of-year prize.

Students who have done particularly well were rewarded with a day out and picnic at the Norfolk Children's Book Centre, and a visit to Norwich City Football Club's library, and tour of the ground.

Students can also access the quizzes through the school website at home, which can help them complete even more.

“This is an amazing achievement and everyone involved in it feels very proud,” said Ms Groombridge, head of English, “the only problem is the school could well end up needing a bigger library to hold all the books that are being read!”