Rydal Penrhos’ Podcast Club produced some book reviews during a recent task.

Reading, reading, reading. We value reading and the power of the written word enormously at Rydal Penrhos and in a time where digital seems to be the natural course of sourcing information for the modern-day pupil, staff are very keen to implement a clear strategy that highlights the educational benefits that come from a book in written form.

The school prides itself on putting learning and its pupils before anything else. This has resulted in some outstanding examination results in recent years and exceptional value-added scores -meaning that pupils not only meet their goals, but also exceed them.

Younger members of the Rydal Penrhos community are busy progressing through their Accelerated Reading programme, coupled with a fully updated Oxford Reading Tree situated in the school “Lyndon” Library.

The pupils have access to many newly purchased recent titles and resources, with the reading programme coming complete with challenging reading comprehension quizzes on more than 200,000 books and a facility that enables teaching staff to monitor each child’s progress carefully.

The importance of reading is optimised in all academic subjects and even some of the extra-curricular activities across Rydal Penrhos.

One extra-curricular activity “Podcast Club” led by teacher Catherine Culver tasked her group with producing book reviews from a personal favourite of theirs or one of the titles they had read recently.

Year 6 pupil Emily Nurse chose The Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher, which she described as “her absolute favourite”. A book which by chance was lent to her by twin brother Harry.

Another contribution came from Lexi-May Williams, who reviewed The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell, which centres around a character called Blue Wing, who is desperate to become a shark caller. Instead, she must befriend infuriating newcomer Maple, who arrives unexpectedly on Blue Wing’s island.

The final book review came from Max Hackman, who detailed his thoughts on the Anthony Horowitz murder mystery entitled “I Know What You Did Last Wednesday“, where the Diamond Brothers get on the case after a reunion on a remote island turns into something else entirely.

It’s clear reading is flourishing in school and there is a passion for the written word and given the direct correlation between reading and academic achievement, alongside the creativity, happiness and imagination reading instills we are sure to have happy, thriving pupils across school.

Emily’s book review:

Lexi-May’s book review:

Max’s book review:

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Anyone wishing to enquire about Rydal Penrhos School can do so by calling 01492 530155, email admissions@rydalpenrhos.com or register your interest online here: https://rydalpenrhos.com/admissions/apply-now.