As 2026 marks the National Year of Reading, a campaign to address the decline in reading amongst children, young people and adults, we have decided to set all pupils a challenge over Long Leave: read a book!
The Library in St Andrew’s Study Centre has put together a display of short reads, expertly selected by librarians, teachers and pupils, for Bradfield College pupils to borrow over Long Leave.
We are also delighted to share our new Lower School (Y9-11) and Sixth Form Reading lists with you. These have been curated by staff and pupils and showcase a range of teacher- and pupil-recommended reads. The majority of books on both lists are available to borrow from the Library.
All pupils are also invited to sign up for Sora, the Library’s new e-book and audiobook platform. We will officially be launching this on November 12th but in the meantime pupils can sign up via the Library’s Firefly site.
TAKE INSPIRATION FROM OUR STUDENTS!
“Personally, reading hasn’t always been something that I’ve enjoyed. Being neurodiverse made it harder – I took longer to read, and concentrating on a book for more than a few pages felt like a challenge in itself.
But in Year 9, I read The Girl of Ink and Stars, and for once, I lost myself in a story of a mapmaker’s daughter who embarks on a dangerous quest to save her small home town. I think that was the first time I realised that reading didn’t have to feel like something I was simply supposed to do; it could actually be something I wanted to do.
My interest developed through GCSE into my choosing English Literature for A Level, which is something Year 9 me would definitely not have expected!
I now read a lot for pleasure. Books like The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi taught me about confidence, while Julian Baggini’s A Short History of Truth made me think about how we decide what we believe to be true. I think that’s what I like most about reading now: you start with someone else’s ideas and somehow end up thinking a little differently about your own.” Amelie (M)
“I can definitely say that having come from a different country, reading books helped me improve my English and rediscover my passion for literature. It feels so rewarding to finally finish a book you’ve been reading for a while, and you gain so much from it! If I had to pick a favourite, I would have to go with ‘Swimming in the Dark’ by Tomasz Jedrowski”. Tekle (K)
There are so many benefits to reading for pleasure: developing empathy, increasing our vocabulary, allowing us to immerse ourselves in another world, and exploring new concepts, cultures and experiences. Every time we open a book, we embark on a journey!
“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain
