The Joy of Reading - Aspire Higher

We’re delighted to invite your school to take part in the Joy of Reading, which we’ve been running across our schools for several years. The project aims to foster a passion for reading and writing among young people, while indirectly supporting their literacy skills and long-term attainment.

This year we are partnering with the charity Coram Beanstalk to provide a fully funded peer to peer reading support programme. The programme will train Reader Leaders within your school to support Year 7 male learners who are currently 2–3 years behind their expected reading age.

There is strong and consistent evidence that a passion for reading, often referred to as reading for pleasure has a significant impact on academic attainment, literacy development, and broader cognitive and behavioural development. Some research even suggests that reading for pleasure is one of the strongest predictors of academic success, even more so than socio-economic background.

The Joy of Reading project aims to:

Support Year 7 male learners, through targeted reading support, helping to close literacy gaps and boost engagement.
Reader Leaders gain valuable skills in leadership, communication, and confidence — ideal for future applications and enrichment.

Cosima Unfortunate has spent all her life at the Home for Unfortunate Girls - a school where any disabled children, or children deemed different, are sent, whether their families want it or not.

But when Cos finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy, the explorer behind the Empire Exhibition, is planning to adopt them, she and her friends plot the biggest heist of their life. Instead of fondant fancies, they're going to steal Fitzroy's prized tiara, containing the legendary Star Diamond of India!

But, as they start preparing for the day, Cosima finds herself drawing ever closer to discovering the one secret she's always wanted to know - the truth about her parents...

Funny but also thought-provoking, this is a historical mystery adventure with a difference.

Laura Noakes is a children's author who lives in Bedfordshire. She has studied at three different Univerisites, including the University of Hertfordshire!

Whilst studying for her PhD in legal history, she fell down a “rabbit hole” of looking at how disabled children were institutionalised during the Victorian era, which birthed the inspiration for Cosmia Unfortunate Steals a Star.

Like the title character, Laura has Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, and has spoken about how disabled characters suit heist stories as they always have a plan B at the ready, saying "Innovation is quite innate when the world isn’t built for you."

You can find out more about Laura on her website.