School Reading List

Books & Literature

The School Reading List Podcast - presented by Tom Tolkien. In each episode, we recommend new and classic children's and young adult books.

Episodes

Episode 41 - Will the government's new reading assessments undermine the National Year of Reading?

Episode 40 - How to spot which books will appeal to 14-16+ year olds based on social media trends

Episode 39 - “Only 10% of boys aged 14-16 read daily for pleasure.”

Episode 38 - How Book Censorship Creeps into UK Schools and How to Respond

Episode 37 - How author visits benefit schools and reading for pleasure

Episode 36 - Using AI to help students with difficult GCSE set books and exam comprehensions

Episode 35 - A library in every primary: what £10m means

Episode 34 - Books that rival screens and social media

Episode 33 - The UK National Year of Reading 2026

Episode 32 - What are picture books, and why are they useful?

Episode 31 - How reading between the ages of 11 and 16 can help teens get better jobs

Episode 30 - Why Investing in Your School Library Can Boost Your School Inspection Grade

Episode 29 - Do Children Read More Than We Think?

Episode 28 - Is It Time To Rethink Dressing-Up For World Book Day?

Episode 27 - Why teaching discrete subjects encourages reading for pleasure

Episode 26 - Why Discount Book Packs Are a Bad Deal for Schools

Episode 25 - What Are We Reading For?

Episode 24 - Why DuckDuckGo is best for book searches

Episode 23 - Should mobile phones be banned in schools?

Episode 22 - What to read in the summer holidays