‘Before Bookbuzz Secondary, this student felt he couldn’t see himself in books, so why bother?’

At BookTrust, our Bookbuzz Secondary national English language reading programme is designed to support secondary school students find books that feel relevant to them. The programme lets students choose and keep a book from a selection of 16 expertly chosen titles – supporting students to read for pleasure by finding the right book for them. 

Alison shared how she has seen Bookbuzz Secondary make a difference in her school.

“He then had a good look at the Bookbuzz Secondary books laid out on the table. I could see he was interested in Steady for This by Nathaneal Lessore – he kept coming back to it. Over the next few weeks, he discreetly checked in at the library to see if the Bookbuzz Secondary books had arrived. It was in a very nonchalant way – he sent one of his friends in to check, while he was outside the library, listening.” 

“When the Bookbuzz Secondary books had been given out, I chatted with this student about the characters and the bits he found funny. He spotted a copy of King of Nothing on my desk, which he asked to borrow next. 

“From there, he started asking questions about other authors, and we talked about Kwame Alexander. He then tried borrowing some verse novels and graphic novels. We’ve started exploring Jason Reynolds books. What we’ve learned is that he is actually very interested in books – he just needed to feel like they were for him.” 

Making time for informal book talk is a crucial part of Kings Monkton School’s reading for pleasure strategy. ​“We have blethering sessions [timetabled informal book chats] as part of our school culture, where I read from a book aloud, make some recommendations and then students have the chance to chat about reading,” says Alison. 

Alison talks about how she runs a Bookbuzz Secondary session. ​“We cover tables with all the Bookbuzz Secondary books,” she says. ​“We get two copies, so we put one face up and one face down next to it, so they can see the front cover and the blurb. I’ll explain to them what’s going to happen, and they just get stuck in. They’ll read the back, look at the cover, go for the things that really appeal to them. 

“The conversations they have are fun and high-energy. The students often team up so they can all choose and read the same Bookbuzz Secondary book, or they make arrangements with each other to choose different titles so they can swap later in the year.”

Starting secondary school can be an overwhelming time for 11-year-olds. 

“Students are adjusting to an awful lot,” says Alison. ​“Bookbuzz Secondary works well as a transition activity for Year 7s. Reading can play a very big part within primary school culture, but when they start secondary school, nobody’s reading to them. Suddenly, children are responsible for their own reading. They know it’s important, they know they have to do it, but it doesn’t feel fun anymore because the focus is on the skill rather than the will. 

“The focus of Bookbuzz Secondary for us is giving students the agency to come in and select something that they will enjoy, and be supported in that process.” 

Kings Monkton School also uses Bookbuzz Secondary with Year 8 students. ​“By this point, they’ve spent a year within our school reading culture,” says Alison. ​“They’re more confident about what they like and what they don’t. 

“It’s wonderful to be able to give them that opportunity to have discussions about the Bookbuzz Secondary books, make informed decisions about what they choose to read, and to see how far they’ve come.”