The Weekly Read Returns

After the half-term break, The Weekly Read will resume for all pupils in Fourth Form, Remove and Fifth Form. Last year, we succeeded in getting every lower school pupil in the school reading for half an hour a week during tutor time. Now, we want to build on that success, developing an even stronger reading culture at Mill Hill.

This year, the core aim of The Weekly Read remains the same: we want every Mill Hill pupil to read a book they enjoy at least once a week, finishing three full novels over the course of the academic year. This year's approach was inspired by the National Literacy Trust's decision to designate 2026 as the National Year of Reading. Their campaign centres on the message, ‘If you're into it, read into it’, recognising that teenagers can fall out of love with reading when the books they encounter don't speak to their personalities and interests. In keeping with this message, we want our pupils to fully embrace their book choices this year.

Over the half-term break, we want pupils to decide what their favourite book is. This might be a book that made them think differently about the world or simply helped them relax during a stressful time. It doesn’t have to be a literary classic, but it should be a sufficiently ambitious read that they would feel proud to recommend it to their peers. When we return to school, pupils will pitch their chosen book to their tutor group. This will be followed by a book swap, where pupils select the book that resonates most with them. The exchange will encourage pupils to share their interests and explore new genres, while also strengthening bonds within tutor groups.

We would be thrilled if pupils found a title to read from the selection pitched by their peers, but we are equally happy for them to choose a book independently from our fantastic collection in the Piper Library. We want reading gradually to go from ‘I have to’ to ‘I want to’; this might mean trading James Joyce for Jacqueline Wilson for now, and that's OK. What matters is that pupils find books they love and build a lasting habit of reading that will stay with them not just through their teenage years, but throughout their adult lives.

The half-term will be a busy time for pupils, with exam preparation and prep, as well as social arrangements. But please do encourage your child to take some time to settle down with a book they love. Children who enjoy reading are three times more likely to have good mental wellbeing than children who don't enjoy it. Academic benefits aside, this statistic alone should give us all the encouragement we need to pick up a new book and get stuck in.

Listen to episode one of our school podcast, Behind the Pillars, in which Ms Thurtell and I discuss The Weekly Read and the importance of regular reading here.