Richmond School selected for exciting national reading initiative

We are delighted to be selected for the national Reading4Normal Book Club, an online reading group scheme that aims to bring together young readers from different parts of the UK. One of only six schools involved in this exciting project, six students will have the opportunity to discuss recent British young adult (YA) novels, and to reflect on their own everyday lives and experiences.

Miss Montgomery, English Teacher, is leading the project and working with Maddie and Daisy, in Year 9, Andrew and Megan, in Year 10 and Freya and Emma, in Year 12.

Miss Montgomery said: “We are privileged to be involved in this terrific project which is not only promoting a love of reading to students but is also offering a valuable way for keen readers to make connections with other individuals at a similar life stage across the UK.”

Over eight months, the students will read five novels individually and then discuss them with the students from the other five schools in Zoom meetings.  The books are recent YA novels by British authors, which offer fictional representations of a diverse and contemporary Britain and include: Simon James Green’s You’re the One That I Want (2021), Danielle Jawando’s And the Stars Were Burning Brightly (2020), Lisa Williamson’s First Day of My Life (2020) and Nikesh Shukla’s The Boxer (2019). Finally, they will choose between  Alice Oseman’s I Was Born for This (2018) or Maggie Harcourt’s The Pieces of Ourselves (2020) or Manjeet Mann’s Run, Rebel (2020).

The project will culminate in July 2022 with a Reading4Normal Zoom event with a major YA author.

The activities will be supported by training materials and expert advice from the project leader, Dr Alison Walker from the University of Roehampton.

The others students taking part are from schools in Bath, London, Staffordshire and Tyne and Wear.