Star pupils set to shine in Year of Reading adventure
Our school is thrilled to be involved in Star Academies’ Year of Reading 2026 – taking part in the trust-wide programme designed to inspire creativity, literacy, and a love of books.
Pupils are preparing to dive into stories, develop their writing and artistic skills, and immerse themselves in a variety of fun, termly book challenges, with staff and families joining in to support and celebrate their creativity. From crafting short stories to illustrating favourite books and testing their spelling, our school community is excited to bring the joy of reading to life throughout the year. The programme aligns with the Department for Education’s National Year of Reading 2026, a UK-wide campaign aimed at making reading a daily habit and reversing the decline in reading for pleasure among children and young people. Delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, the Go All In campaign encourages children to explore how reading can connect to the things they already love – from music, sport and films to family time, hobbies, and everyday adventures.
Across Star schools, the Year of Reading will come alive through a programme of exciting activities and termly competitions, designed to inspire imagination, celebrate storytelling, and bring the entire Star community together. Each term will feature a flagship trust-wide competition, giving pupils the chance to craft, create, and captivate – helping budding bookworms shine and bring stories to life, from pen to palette.
In the spring term, aspiring authors in Years 5 to 10 will be invited to unleash their imagination through Star Stories, the trust’s short story writing competition. Pupils will have the chance to compose captivating adventures in any genre, breathing life into characters, worlds and experiences, as each school runs a competition to select the top three stories in each age group. These entries will then be judged across the entire Star family of schools, with a panel of experts identifying the most inventive, engaging, and memorable stories across the entire trust.
All finalists will be celebrated for their imagination and effort, with twelve winners in each age category receiving Amazon vouchers and the top story in each age group transformed into a professionally illustrated book, with copies distributed to every Star school library. In addition, all twelve winning stories in each category will be published in an online Star Stories Anthology, giving every finalist a permanent place in the Star literary spotlight, while all entrants receive a Star Stories certificate, recognising the talent, creativity, and dedication behind every story submitted.
As the Year of Reading continues into the summer term, young artists will be invited to bring their favourite stories to life through Star’s Books and Brushes competition. Open to pupils from Reception to Year 9, the challenge asks imaginative illustrators to reimagine the front cover of a book from their year group’s Star Readers list, giving them the chance to splash colour, imagination, and personality onto the page.
Each school will hold its own creative contest to select a winner from every Key Stage, before chosen entries are showcased and judged across the Star family of schools. From pencil and paint to digital creations and doodles, pupils can let their artistic flair flourish while celebrating the stories and worlds that have captured their imaginations.
With the arrival of the autumn term, pupils in Years 3 to 10 will take part in the Star Spelling Bee, a lively trust-wide competition designed to boost spelling skills, build confidence, and deepen understanding of language. Open to all pupils, the event encourages stellar spellers to rise to the challenge, sharpen their vocabulary, and enjoy the thrill of friendly competition.
Each school will begin with class-level rounds, before the top spellers battle it out in school-level finals. Contestants will tackle words ranging from everyday vocabulary to trickier terms drawn from the Star curriculum and Star Readers books, spelling in front of peers, teachers, and families. Rounds will be adapted to ensure every pupil can take part.
The best of the school champions will then advance to the national Spelling Bee, hosted online, where pupils will go head-to-head with the finest spellers from across the Star family of schools for a high-energy finale.
In addition to the termly competitions, Star schools will participate in a wide range of activities throughout the year to keep the joy of reading alive – spanning storytelling weeks, reading challenge displays, and quizzes, alongside World Book Day celebrations featuring author workshops, live lessons, and interactive reading challenges.
Reflecting on the importance of reading to Star’s educational vision, Sir (Mufti) Hamid Patel CBE, Chief Executive of Star Academies, said:
“Embedding a world-class book culture in every Star school is fundamental to our vision for educational excellence. Reading is the gateway to knowledge, language and opportunity, shaping how young people understand themselves and the world around them. Through initiatives such as Star Readers, we place high-quality literature at the heart of school life so that every pupil develops the habits, vocabulary and confidence needed to succeed.
“Our Year of Reading programme sits proudly alongside the Department for Education’s National Year of Reading 2026, reflecting a shared ambition to strengthen the role of reading in children’s lives and communities. By bringing together pupils, families and staff through powerful stories and meaningful experiences, we are investing in aspiration, achievement and social mobility for the long term.”
With Star’s Year of Reading programme set to bring stories, creativity, and imagination to life across all 36 schools, pupils will have a year packed with opportunities to explore, create, and enjoy the joy of reading. Together, Star schools are embracing a year of imagination, where every story, every idea, and every reader has the chance to shine.
Added By: Chamber Communications | Date Added: 15th Jan 2026 | Posted In: Latest News