Rutherford Reads

At Mark Rutherford School, we are excited to introduce Rutherford Reads, our Tutor Time Reading Programme, which runs twice a week during morning tutor sessions. This initiative is designed to nurture a love of reading, enrich vocabulary, and support academic progress across all subjects. Twice a week, students spend 25 minutes engaged in a shared reading experience, where tutors read aloud while students follow along with their own copies. This approach allows tutors to model fluent, expressive reading and explain challenging vocabulary, helping to close the vocabulary gap and expose students to language beyond everyday conversation.

Texts have been carefully selected to reflect a wide range of genres, themes, and authors, encouraging cross-curricular connections and cultural awareness. For example, Year 7 students may explore the emotional depth of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness or the powerful social themes in Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Older students tackle more complex narratives such as Touching the Void by Joe Simpson in Year 9 or Lord of the Flies by William Golding in Year 10. Each tutor band reads the same book simultaneously, fostering discussion and shared understanding among peers. In Years 10 and 11, we also supplement Rutherford Reads with the support of academic resources that support GCSE English Language, such as the EMC Short Stories Anthology and the As Told By Teachers Anthology. Tutor groups also have access to How to Revise by CGP.  

Through Rutherford Reads, we aim to make reading a meaningful and enjoyable part of school life, helping every student to grow as a confident, thoughtful reader.