Literacy is not just about reading, writing and speaking. At Aylsham High School we see literacy as a spectrum. Students are encouraged to recognise that they are literate in lots of subjects; our different talents and interests are what make our school such an exciting and diverse place.  

Our staff promote this idea through their own subject passions, along with our whole-school assemblies and our student Literacy Leaders (years 7-10) and Subject Captains (year 11). These student leaders are advocates for their chosen subject. They take on subject-specific responsibilities such as homework support, key vocabulary videos, writing subject-related content for AHS Reads, and creating content for whole-school scholarly reading. Our Mastermind contest in June 2024 - an interhouse version of the popular quiz - promotes subject specific literacy as well as general curricular knowledge. 

Reading and speaking are a particular focus at Aylsham High School. Our annual public speaking competition and bi-annual interschool debate competitions showcase our students' ability to use rhetoric to express their points of view and demonstrate our commitment to helping students develop their personal voice; our weekly whole-school read and scholarly reading in form time help students to diversify their reading and to experience reading aloud on a regular basis and demonstrate our commitment to making reading part of every student's learning journey.

Please visit our literacy website www.ahsliteracy.com to see detailed information for students, parents and staff about literacy in our school. 

On this site, parents can find information on:

• How to encourage young people to read
• How to support young people with spelling
• How we support reading in school
• Books recommended by teachers
• Short reads on our AHSReads site
• How we support students with low literacy in lessons

Students can find information on:

• How to become stronger readers
• Why reading is important
• How to get started when writing
• How to remember key vocabulary
• Books recommended by teachers
• Short reads on our AHSReads site
• How to get involved in school in our whole-school read, Literacy Leaders, and Mastermind

Miss Bates, Leader of whole school literacy and reading