At Cardinal Wiseman we recognise that reading is one of the most important skills that children will ever learn. It is a vital skill that children need to be able to excel at school and achieve personal growth. Children who read for pleasure are far more likely to do better in Maths and English. An English GCSE exam paper requires a reading age of 15 years. At Cardinal Wiseman it is our target that all pupils leave with a reading age to match their chronological age.

All pupils at Cardinal Wiseman have the opportunity to read for 30 minutes every day – through our Drop Everything And Read programme (DEAR). We carefully monitor each pupil’s reading age, and assist pupils in selecting appropriate books for them to read daily. This reading practice allows all pupils to perfect their reading skills.

Once pupils have read a book they are able to take an online quiz to show their understanding of what they have read. By answering these quizzes pupils can earn points which will lead to rewards throughout the year, such as Amazon gift vouchers or even a Kindle.