Improving literacy is high on our agenda and our students can look forward to a number of new and exciting literacy initiatives.

Last year, we launched a number of literacy initiatives designed to encourage reading and creative writing across all year groups. Our refurbished and re-stocked library was the first step in our long-term plan, providing a welcoming venue for reading and debating literature; this was soon followed by the introduction of the "Reading Mentor' programme, which is now well established.

Students participated in the Carnegie Book Competition and enjoyed some innovative English Literature projects, including those that brought Shakespeare to life through drama, and those that promote debate such as the War Horse project, which compared the merits of the original novel to the subsequent film and stage production. Students also wrote and published a number of children's books and our student journalism team produced four new issues of Exclaimer e-magazine.

This year, Mrs Mulryan, our Literacy Co-ordinator will work closely with Daniel Wheatley, who has been appointed as our new Library Apprentice, to extend our literacy programme further. In September, we will be launching a reading rewards scheme, which will promote the use of the library and encourage students to read for pleasure. Through regular reading, students will not only increase their vocabulary, but they will also gain a better understanding of grammar and punctuation; this all leads to higher level writing skills. As part of the scheme, library users will receive a "rewards' bookmark upon which they will achieve a stamp for each book they borrow; these can later be redeemed for a range of collectable gifts.

Finding opportunities to enter both local and national creative writing competitions will be a priority this year, as this will give talented young writers the chance to gain experience and recognition. We will also be establishing a book review club and Mrs Mulryan will be exploring ideas for literacy-themed trips and developing links with local primary schools.

The Enrichment Period, which is included in the new format for our school day, will allow us to develop and run a number of exciting literacy-based clubs according to the interests, talents and aspirations of our students. Examples could include clubs to discuss classic literature or poetry, author-appreciation societies and clubs to help develop skills in newspaper or magazine journalism, script writing for stage, TV or radio and writing for novels or comic books.