The GES 50 Reading Challenge
Reading is the gateway to every subject in school, but more than that, it is the gateway to a world of imagination, learning, growth and experience.
Without an excellent standard of literacy, it is proven that students struggle to access lessons, curriculum and exams but more importantly, they are missing out on a whole world of incredible stories, and fascinating characters.
That is why we at George Eliot Academy encourage all students (and staff!) to take part in the reading challenge: to read 50 of the best books ever written before you leave in year 11.
Will you make it on to our Wall of Excellence?
10 books read? – Bronze award
25 books read? – Silver award
50 books read? – Gold award
Year 7
Harry Potter
Romeo and Juliet
Treasure Island
Alice in Wonderland
Divergent
The Hunger Games
The Secret Garden
The Hobbit
Wind in the Willows
A Monster Calls
Year 8
The Chrysalids
The Giver
Dune
Lord of the Rings
The Fault in our Stars
Of Mice and Men
Lord of the Flies
A Midsummer
Night's Dream
Gulliver's Travels
Little Women
Year 9
Animal Farm
1984
The History of Bees
Sherlock Holmes
I am Legend
To Kill A Mockingbird
Wonder
Frankenstein
To the Lighthouse
Fahrenheit 451
Year 10
Pride and Prejudice
The Great Gatsby
The Picture of
Dorian Gray
Dracula
Jane Eyre
Jekyll and Hyde
Great Expectations
Rebecca
Wuthering Heights
The Time Travellers Wife
Year 11
The Kite Runner
Brave New World
Never Let Me Go
The Children of Men
The Catcher in the Rye
The Road
The Colour Purple
IT
Atonement
The Handmaid's tale

George Eliot – (Mary Ann Evans)
Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) is arguably Nuneaton’s most famous success story.
She was one of the Victorian era’s most popular writers. She acted as a pioneer and helped to carve a path for the female writers who followed her.
We are incredibly proud to be named after one of the most influential writers of all time.
I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.
I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.
I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.
I opened a book, by Julia Donaldson
