School-wide Literacy and Oracy

As a school we believe that the bedrock of all learning is literacy. Our ambitious literacy program is a recognition that high levels of literacy for our student gives greater access to learning across all subject areas, as well as equipping young people for life well beyond the classroom. By the time they leave, pupils are expected to be habitual readers. This is embedded through a reading culture established and enforced from the first day that pupils join us. As well as an accelerated reader program - designed to support pupils to rapidly increase their literacy levels - we also stretch students with an elite readers program aimed at challenging and inspiring pupils with hand-picked texts as they become confident readers.

Our form-time reading program gives guided access to all our key stage three learners to great literature from the Canon as well as literary texts from a variety of cultures. We recognise that the chances of future success for our children are hugely increased through having access to a broad range of literature, ideas and vocabulary. 

We are also launching a similarly ambitious oracy program through which we aim to make our children confident speakers in a variety of contexts - no matter their starting point. With 'talk' at the heart of the dialogic classroom and by offering our students a range of opportunities for public speaking throughout their Douay journey, pupils will leave for university, the work-place and wider life, equipped with a confident voice and a range of spoken language skills.