Mayville Teachers Go All In For The National Year of Reading
Author: Aislynn Matthias-Rosser.
2nd March 2026.
As part of Mayville’s Book week, the staff were asked about their favourite books and experiences of reading for pleasure. It was part of our response to the National Literacy Trust’s ‘Go all In campaign’ which has designated 2026 as the Year of Reading.
The video we created to share some Mayville’s teachers’ favourite books with our pupils was shown to them in tutor time. You can watch the video below!
Our goal was to show how many of their teachers enjoy reading for pleasure and hopefully to help Mayville pupils to remember the joy of reading in an age when technology often competes for their attention.
Here are some of the responses from the survey.
What are Mayville teachers currently reading?
Today I am reading- Andy Farrell, ‘The only way I know’. Andy is an exciting coach doing amazing things in rugby and I’m really enjoying learning about his journey. Mr Brockhurst.
‘Storm of Steel’ by Ernst Jünger- a German book about a soldier's experience in the trenches of WW1. It connects with the history we study in UIV. Mr Flower
‘Bird Boy’ by Catherine Bruton. I chose to read it because this author is visiting our school. It connects with other books that I have read and enjoyed before because it is a fiction book that tells us about true to life experiences in an accessible way for children. In this case a refugee boy who has lost almost everything is the one to help a boy who has lost his mother, through his own grief.
A great book to read for empathy and I must admit it moved me to tears in parts."
Mrs Carter
How do Mayville teachers prefer to read? Physical copies, Kindles or Audiobooks?
Almost all Kindle these days. Mr Sands
Always physical books. Mr O’Sullivan
Usually physical books but my favourite book when I was younger was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. I used to listen to it on audio tape every night. I can still recite huge passages of it! Mrs Matthias-Rosser
What is one of your favourite books?
My favourite book ever is 'Watership Down', an allegorical text exploring themes such as the struggles of life, death, power, politics and injustice, viewed through the eyes of an intrepid group of rabbits who are escaping a doomed warren in the hope of a life of freedom. Ms Bray
To have or to hold by Sophie Pavelle - a book looking at how everything in the natural world works alongside each other and how each life form supports another in a symbiotic relationship such as sharks and feeder fish. Miss Johnson
My favourite children's book is Charlotte's Web; the tale of how a little girl named Fern - with the help of a friendly talking spider called Charlotte - saved her pig, Wilbur, from the usual fate of little pigs. Mrs Jefferies
My favourite book is "The Shipping News" by Annie Proulx. It is tragic and comic, and takes you on a journey to a unique place: Newfoundland. Really funny and with the best descriptions of the sea you will ever read. Mr O’Neil
One of my all-time favourites in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It depicts a young woman's struggles with her mental health, as she navigates the societal expectations of her gender against her own desires. Plath was a genius with language and the result is a breathtakingly painful book which has stayed with me for many years."
Mrs Hardcastle
What were your favourite books when you were younger?
The first books I remember really enjoying were the Phillip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' series, the Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series when I was in secondary school. As an adult I've read many books written by Stephen King, Matt Haig and Ian McEwan. My favourite genre of books would be thrillers/crime. Mr Raffety-Croft
I was introduced to Agatha Christie by a friend in secondary school and quickly devoured everything she wrote. Before that I used to love reading the Sweet Valley High Books and as a child I loved Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter (especially Jemima Puddle Duck), Winnie the Pooh ( I still have the set!) and the Mr Men books. My first memory of being in a public library is watching The Snowman on a ‘wheeled in’ TV! Mrs Stallard
Mr Flower and Mrs Matthias-Rosser enjoyed reading Enid Blyton books such as The Famous Five.
Mr Sear, Mr Sutton and Mr Prince all enjoyed reading The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
Final Thoughts
The Department of Education has declared 2026 a National Year of Reading due to data suggesting that only 1 in 3 school aged pupils enjoy reading and fewer than 1 in 5 children between the ages of 8 and 18 read daily. Reading for pleasure is strongly influenced by relationships between teachers and children, and children and families (Cremin et al, 2009).
By making reading for pleasure a visible part of our school community we are hoping that Mayville pupils will be encouraged to bring books back into their daily lives.
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