We all know that reading transports curious minds to wondrous realms of the imagination. Reading determines success not only in the classroom, but in life. Highly popular and successful for over 25 years, Accelerated Reader (AR) is a powerful tool for monitoring and managing independent reading practice, and we are very proud to welcome it to The Astley Cooper School.

After their initial testing every student in Year 7 and 8 will be given a reading range within the whole range of 1.0 - 7.0+. (A typical range for a Year 7 student would be 4.1-6.8) Students will then be able to read any of the 3,000 fiction books or 400+ non-fiction books (this number is expanding all the time as they add more and more quizzes) we currently have on AR in the library within their range.

After reading a book students take a short quiz online. We count the total number of words they have read and award them with prizes accordingly. It is our aim that every Year 7 will be a Bronze Badge winner (300,000 words) by the end of the summer term. Students will be part of AR until the end of Year 9 by which time we hope they will all be word millionaires if not multi-millionaires.

Students should have their Accelerated Reader book with them at all times – just like they would have their pen, pencil or planner. Form tutors will check this at registration time.  

We hope to make reading at Astley Cooper School a day-to-day activity for students; to encourage them to read with stamina and enjoy books for pleasure.

We would like parents and carers to support us by ensuring that you see your child reading their Accelerated Reader book  at home for at least thirty minutes per week – look on it as an on-going homework task. If your child ever says “I’ve got no homework!” reply with “Yes, you have – you’ve got to read your Accelerated Reader book!” Together, we can ensure your child becomes an accelerated reader.