Here at TPS, we truly believe that reading enhances children's lives. It 'makes their world bigger' by giving them the knowledge – and therefore the confidence – they need to truly become global citizens. Reading also brings joy, whether through a shared reading experience with family or friends, or else by delighting in a thrilling, chilling, heart-rending or action-packed story.
Reading is not only linked to students' well-being but also their academic success too. Sadly, in 2019 only 73% of pupils left primary school having reached their expected level of reading. What is more, those students who are not read to daily miss hearing around 1.4 million words each year. In contrast, a 14-year-old who reads often and independently will know 26% more words than those peers who have never read. This will allow them to engage in better discussions, better careers, better debates and the like. These statistics powerfully highlight the pivotal role that reading has to play in our students' performance across all of their subjects, and indeed the rest of their lives.
We are proud therefore, to call ourselves a reading school, where reading for both pleasure and progress form an integral part of our ethos. We are pleased to include internationally recognised programmes such as: Direct Instruction and Accelerated Reader; exposure to high quality academic texts as part of an ambitious curriculum; and author visits, competitions and events as part of our extensive reading offer.