At Loyola College, our passionate focus on improving literacy skills across all faculties sets us apart and drives our ability to build capacity for change amongst our students. Our English program helps provide students with the requisite skills and confidence to operate in a world awash with information and where voices need to be articulate and engaging to be heard.

One of the key components in improving literacy across the College is the encouragement and framework for all students to engage in reading for pleasure. This program nurtures and supports personal reading to help students in understanding a variety of texts from a range of genres.

This experience is scaffolded with regular sessions in the College’s library focused on individual engagement with texts through one-on-one, and group, discussions endeavouring to embed comprehension and critical thinking skills in reading habits. Students begin their journey by creating an individual Reader Profile, articulating to their teacher and librarians their personal preferences, their reading habits and hobbies to aid in selecting texts that will most engage each student.

Across Year 8 to 9, students are given opportunities to broaden their horizons through the Genre Reading Challenge as well as a chance to continue building good reading habits over the holidays with the Summer Reading Challenge. This focus on reading for pleasure propels reading comprehension, improves written expression and encourages empathy through engagement with a multitude of perspectives.

Loyola builds on progress made through the Reading for Pleasure programs by targeting specific literacy skills at each year level from Year 7 to 9 in our Literacy Development Plan. A close focus on specific reading and language skills at each level facilitates the growth of critical thinking and written expression in all students.

Students build capacity to share their ideas and see their world from a diverse set of viewpoints and in doing so, they become articulate and empathetic members of their community. With the range of texts selected for study students have the opportunity, in a controlled environment, to engage with a variety of experiences, perspectives and time periods from across the globe.

This focus on skills and experiences in a welcoming and collaborative environment allows students to become confident empathetic, articulate, and discerning men and women for others who can enact positive change in their communities.