This is not a list from the English department.
Instead, this list features a range of recommended reading from Heads of Department across the school. Some of these books are childhood favourites, while others have a subject specific focus.
Whatever you do this Summer, build reading into your routines.
From the Biology Department
Written in free verse, this novel charts the brief coming together (and then apart) of the lives of teenagers Jess and Nicu - from the pen of Carnegie Medal Winner Sarah Crossan who I had the privilege to work with on a reading group project in my previous school. The novel crams into its narrative, two voices that cross cultural and linguistic borders to tell a moving and thought-provoking story of prejudice, immigration, forced marriage, abuse and poverty -Mr Wilson
from the Chemistry department
This novel takes you on a mysterious and chilling journey. Prose and photography draw you into the dark world of these peculiar yet enchanting characters - Mrs Pywell
from the Classics department
Matthew's parents are worried. At eleven, he's much too old to have an imaginary friend, yet they find him talking to and arguing with a presence that even he admits is not physically there. This presence - Chocky - causes Matthew to ask difficult questions and say startling things: he speaks of complex mathematics and mocks human progress. Then, when Matthew does something incredible, it seems there is more than the imaginary about Chocky. Which is when others become interested and ask questions of their own: who is Chocky? And what could it want with an eleven-year-old boy?
A funny and heart-warming sci-fi novelette, about a young boy who seems suddenly to have acquired an imaginary friend. If you liked the film ET then you’ll like this! - Miss Boyt
From the Economics Department
The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centres on a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont. He displays great power while still a boy and joins a school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with a fellow student.
I read the Earthsea trilogy when I was 11 or 12 and still think about the stories regularly. I didn’t get to the Lord of the Rings until many years later, and Ursula Le Guin does a much better job on wizards and magic than Tolkien - Mr White
from the English department
A dystopian Romeo and Juliet that makes eloquent statements about race relations and the burning passions of the teenage heart, Noughts and Crosses is absolutely pivotal in the evolution of the Young Adult novel.
from the French department
In The New Yorker, Adam Gopnik writes that:
Of all the books written in French over the past century, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “Le Petit Prince” is surely the best loved in the most tongues. This is very strange, because the book’s meanings—its purpose and intent and moral—still seem far from transparent - recommended by Ms French
This book is a beautiful, necessary parable and rewards readers of all ages.
from the German department
Many of you will be familiar with the work of Judith Kerr as she wrote and illustrated the 'Mog' books.
However, she also wrote this semi-autobiographical classic which tells the story of a Jewish family escaping Germany in the days before the Second World War.
Kerr wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit fifty years ago, based on her own journey, so that her own children would know where she came from and the lengths to which her parents went to keep her and her brother safe. It has gone on to become a beloved classic that is required reading for many children all over the world and is an unforgettable introduction to the real-life impact of the Second World War. Recommended by Mrs Hood
from the History Department
I loved all the Holmes stories when I was younger, and these are the best place to begin. Because of its mixture of absurdity and ingenuity, my favourite story was The Red-Headed League, but they all combine clever plotting with the compelling atmosphere of late-Victorian London - Mr Grant
from the Maths Department
Not Your Average Maths Book presents a fun and accessible look at numbers, filled with great facts and fascinating insights into numbers, their history and the mathematicians who made key breakthroughs in their fields.
From how long it would take to count to a billion , to why bubbles are always round, to what the ham sandwich theorem is, this book answers all these questions and many many more! Recommended by Dr Kirby
from the Psychology Department
Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. She soon finds companions in Mogget, a cat whose aloof manner barely conceals its malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, now free in body but still trapped by painful memories.
A really fun YA fantasy adventure story about a necromancer (not scary!) - Dr Wolsey
from the Spanish department
Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people... In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal's office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance - and Papi's secrets - the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
This book moves between the countries of the USA and the Dominican Republic. It also moves between languages. We see cultural differences and language and cultural barriers explored. This is a moving exploration of family, love, grief, forgiveness and growing up recommended by Mrs DEan