I’ve always loved reading.

Before I could even read you can spot me in childhood photos with a book on my lap. It might be one of my own picture books or I might have snatched a book from the adult holding me but it will be there.

As soon as I could read, it was all I did. I remember my parents taking out my lightbulb at 1am to try and stop me.

It didn’t work.

Whilst there are lots of us bibliophiles out there, how do we encourage our students to read? How do we create a reading culture and an excitement surrounding books?

Currently, this is what we’re trialling (and I’ll say right now that it’s nothing new!).

With so many amazing, exciting and interesting books for young adults coming out, we’re trying to create reading lists (made into posters) that not only seek to encourage interest with their visuals but are also practical. We stick them up around the college and we send them home so that parents can stick them on the fridge. The content of them varies greatly, with the most challenging at the top, and we’re careful to say to parents that they need to vet their child’s choices. It’s so difficult to account for students who have read 1984 at 11 years old and those who are only just developing independent reading skills, isn’t it?!

Most importantly, we’re pooling our knowledge of what’s out there as well as pulling in the classics. If these aren’t lists I’d want to read, they aren’t good enough. That’s my guide.

Also, we’re seeking to create a reading passport that is practical for us as well as usable and inspiring for our students.

The aim is that the students have only four compulsory books to read throughout the year (though altering the books to make them more appropriate to particular students is totally on the cards). Tasks are set which, hopefully, are not easy to Google so that students can prove that they’ve read them.

Book choice is key here.

I’m not saying I’ve got this right but I’ve tried to list a variety of genres, difficulties and eras.

There’s no way to ensure that all our students become as obsessed as I’ve always been but I’m sure that we can go some way to creating students whose parents need to take their lightbulbs or confiscate their kindles.

And I think the world would be a better place if we did.

Let me know what you think!