Mrs Clayton-Young runs reading groups, known as Reading Gladiators.

Children attend weekly sessions to discuss and complete activities based on the book of the half term. 

The children have a lot of reading to complete before the next session but develop a real love for each book we focus on. 

The Thing About Jellyfish

This book was read by a Year 6 group. The story is a sad tale of a girl who doesn't fit in, makes a best friend, but the best friend dies.  The story explores their relationship and an obsession with how the cause of her death must be a jellyfish...how else would such a good swimmer die in the sea? 

Sita Brahmachari's book tells the tale of Kairos City.  A place which was beautiful before The Storm; before Climate Chaos ruined the natural world. 

Now the flowerbeds are built over with brick, the bees are long gone and children are sent to Freedom Fields to pollinate crops by hand for the good of the nation. 

Eleven-year-old Shifa knows her twin Themba won't survive this harsh existence for long; they have to escape.  But then she uncovers an impossible secret.  If she can protect it on their perilous journey home, Shifa could change everything.

This book was read by a group from Year 6.  We found some of the themes difficult to understand, but being in our group helped us to talk about what we understood, how we thought the writer developed the story and how we could relate the story to the world we live in today.  We looked at Amnesty International and charities who worked to make sure everyone was entitled to an education. 

This book was really enjoyed by Year 5 children.  It is very funny and we enjoyed discussing the north eastern dialect David Almond uses in it. 

We discussed the characters in real depth and considered if a person is just bad or good. 

Angelino Brown, the little angel in the story did not always behave like we thought an angel should! 

All of the group said that reading this book really made them realise how great reading is again, and they are excited to read the next one.