Reading at Perrymount
At Perrymount we are committed to raising achievement in reading, promoting reading for pleasure and creating a community of readers. Our goal is that every child who leaves our school at the end of Year 6 is not only a confident reader but also somebody who loves to read.
Reading for pleasure
The Lewisham Book Awards
The Lewisham Book Awards (a borough-wide award scheme) celebrated its inaugural year in 2019. It is a scheme designed to get Lewisham school pupils buried into the latest and the best in young people’s fiction and to celebrate the reading for pleasure culture in our primary schools.
The shortlisted books were hand-selected by teachers and librarians from school libraries across Lewisham. Our pupils at Perrymount then spent the next few months reading as many of the books as possible so they could vote for their favourites.
The winner of each category was then announced in an awards ceremony as part of the Lewisham Festival Of Fun, which we were lucky enough to attend, along with a week of author workshops.
Watch this video to see which books we enjoyed the most.
Click here for the shortlist and winners.
Lewisham Primary Book Awards Winners
We are really looking forward to taking part again in 2020!
The London Children’s Book Project Book Hut
In Spring term (2018-19) and again in Autumn term (2019-20), we were the lucky recipients of a bright green ‘Little Pop-up Book Hut’ courtesy of the London Children’s Book Project, along with many boxes of donated books. The London Children’s Book Project works with settings across the capital to redistribute thousands of new and gently used books to children and their families. These beautiful huts give children the chance to explore and own books that they have chosen for themselves. The book hut supported our aim at Perrymount to continuously promote a love of reading and create a community of readers. The children loved choosing books that they were able to take home and keep. You can find out more about the project at http://childrensbookproject.co.uk
Creating a Community of Readers
When visiting Perrymount, you can’t fail to miss the telephone box next to the school entrance. This is the ‘Perrymount Parent & Staff Book Exchange’ – a place for adults in the school community to share their love of reading with one another.
The ‘Perrymount Parent & Staff Book Exchange’ can be used before and after school. We would like everyone to enjoy and benefit from this initiative, so please feel free to browse and borrow a book or two. If possible, when you borrow a book, please place another book in its place for others to borrow.
We really want it to be used and enjoyed by many of you.
Raising Achievements
Home-School Reading Journals
To complement the teaching of Destination Reader in our KS2 classrooms, we have introduced a home-reading system which allows teachers to monitor what children are reading at home, ensuring they are accessing a range of high-quality texts and a range of genres, and reading books at the correct level.
The front inside cover provides reading guidance for parents/ carers and parents are asked to write a short positive comment on their child’s reading each week. This is to ensure that by actively sharing in our children’s reading we are giving it status and value.
Reading Volunteers
We are always looking for parents/ grandparents who can commit to one hour a week to provide one-to-one reading support.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact the school office in person, via email info@perrymount.lewisham.sch.uk or on 020 8699 4522
Don’t know what to read next?
At Perrymount we believe that every child should have access to good quality texts that stimulate and inspire children (and adults) to read for pleasure. Below, you will find a variety of recommendations compiled by the staff at Perrymount.
These are high quality texts, which promise to engage and challenge even the most reluctant of readers!
The Ultimate Booklist – 100 Books to Read Before You’re 12
We have created the ultimate booklist to help guide and inspire book choices as children journey through Perrymount Primary School. All the books are available in the Book Nook for children to borrow and read.
100 Books to read before you are 12
Reading Recommendation Letters
What better time to share a book than over the school holidays! Here are some of our previous recommendations for both children and adults.
Christmas reading recommendations
Summer reading recommendations
Year 5 and 6 Recommended Reading List
Here are some suggestions for our Upper Key Stage 2 children.
Websites for more reading inspiration
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-recommendations/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksforchildrenandteenagers
https://www.waterstones.com/category/childrens-teenage