At Balcarras we believe in the fundamental importance of reading in the development of young people. It is important to us that all of our teachers are teachers of literacy and receive relevant training throughout the year. We work to ensure that reading is valued and promoted and that students are given a wide array of opportunities to read a range of genres. As well as developing a love of reading, we work to develop our students speaking and listening skills, ensuring that our students can communicate effectively and with confidence. 

At Balcarras we use our Literary Canon to help promote reading for pleasure. The books on our canon have been carefully chosen to ensure that they are age appropriate, interesting and explore a wide range of cultures. We also have a book vending machine containing these texts - students can earn tokens through outstanding effort across the curriculum or can exchange their e-praise points for a token on the e-praise shop.

 Click here:  to get some inspiration.

Reading for pleasure is encouraged in tutor times and through various events throughout the year including Balcarras’ very own Literature Festival in October. Mrs Wranosky, our Literacy Lead, works closely with Miss Knight, Mrs Spring-Wallis and our Librarian Ms Kelly to arrange exciting visits from authors and to run clubs such as ‘Book Mates’ on a Wednesday after school. We also enjoy celebrating a diverse range of events including World Book Day. In addition, a dedicated team of young journalists work to create our professionally printed school magazine - On Balance

Hannah Wranosky

Literacy Coordinator