We are proud to share that in 2025, our Primary School had the highest number of Summer Reading Challenge participants in the whole of the County.   This news highlights our drive to encourage reading within our school community.

The Summer Reading Challenge, presented by The Reading Agency and funded by Arts Council England, encourages children aged 4 to 11 to set themselves a reading challenge to help prevent the summer reading 'dip'.   We LOVE to encourage and reward our children for reading as it's the single best thing to:

• Overcome disadvantage caused by inequalities
• Be healthier and happier with better mental wellbeing and self-esteem
• Do better at school and make more progress across the curriculum
• Develop creativity and empathy

Everything you need to know for 2026!

The 2026 challenge is Read to the Beat!  This exciting theme inspires children to explore the rhythm and melody of reading. Read to the Beat will celebrate music & sound – exploring how music and storytelling unite.

Children are invited to borrow and read library books over the summer. There are stickers to collect, with a medal and certificate for those who complete six reading goals (that they choose!).  Alternatively, the challenge can be completed digitally using the School Library Service app - Sora.

The reading challenge runs each year and is open to all children, completely free of charge.  To find out more about the reading challenge and other activities that run throughout the year, why not visit your local library?  

What books can the children enjoy?  

Children can read any book of their choice; story books, information books, e-books, audio books, poetry, comic, joke books and graphic novels, all reading counts – children set the tempo! 

We are delighted that the number of children taking part has been increasing year on year and hope even more will participate in the coming year.  We love to reward our superstar readers!  This year, they will get to walk the red carpet into our pop-up disco along with enjoying a short movie with popcorn, a photo-booth style area and a chill-out-zone!   

Every child that is able to show that they have completed the challenge and have read the required number of books will be invited to the celebratory reward. 

Find your reading rhythm this summer!   

       

How to take part:

 - Children can read any book of their choice; fiction, non-fiction, picture book, digital book or audio book.
 - The books need to be logged so that they can receive a qualifying certificate.  We accept the following:

• A Summer Reading Challenge certificate issued by your local library
• A Summer Reading Challenge certificate for reading 6 books issued online (You can sign up online, here)
• A screenshot of your child's Sora reading app profile page showing their 6 book reading data statistics between the challenge start date (11/07/2026) and finish dates (12/09/2026). 
  
  For those who may have difficulty accessing the above services or who need a reminder of their child's Sora log on details, please contact Mrs Cole:  library@swanmoreapps.com 

 

Create a Summer Reading account online now and get reading!  https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

For guidance on how to create a Summer Reading Challenge account click here and scroll to the help section at the bottom of the page. 

If your child would like to enjoy books digitally, you can log onto their Sora account here.  If you are unfamiliar with Sora, see our user guide below.