Junior Extension Reading Groups
Students meet each term in small groups with a subject specialist to discuss and analyse a book they have chosen from the list below. The books on offer change each term and include a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction titles.
Artificial Intelligence & Human Values
The Alignment Problem
By Brian Christian
With Leo Wilkin
How can Artificial Intelligence learn human values? With insights from the very people that created these AI systems, learn about the history of ethics in neural networks, and what our future looks like.
Ancient Conflict and Modern Lens
The Silence of the Girls
By Pat Barker
With Ms Cowap
The Silence of the Girls tells the gripping story of the Trojan War from the perspective of Briseis, a captured queen turned slave, giving voice to the women silenced in the myths. It's a powerful, eye-opening take on ancient heroes—and the people history forgets.
Comic Science Fiction
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
By Douglas Adams
With Mr Wragg
What if Earth was demolished to make way for a galactic motorway? That’s just the start of the mayhem in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—a fast, funny sci-fi romp packed with clueless aliens, talking doors, depressed robots, and truly terrible poetry. Follow Arthur Dent, an ordinary man catapulted into an absurd universe, as he searches for the meaning of life… only to find the answer is 42. Perfect for fans of quirky humour, oddball science, and life’s biggest questions.
Coming-of-Age
The Outsiders
By S E Hinton
With Mr Rea
Are you interested in stories that explore loyalty, identity, and the struggles of growing up? This powerful and gripping novel follows a group of teenagers on the margins of society, caught between harsh realities and their need to belong. It tackles themes of class conflict, friendship, and resilience in a world that often seems stacked against them.
Dystopia
Insurgent
By Veronica Roth
With Miss Cox
If you enjoy fast-paced stories filled with danger, rebellion, and difficult choices, this gripping sequel to Divergent plunges you deeper into a divided society on the brink of collapse. As tensions rise between factions, a brave young heroine must navigate shifting loyalties, hidden truths, and the weight of her past. No need to have read Divergent to sign up.
Economics
Why We’re Getting Poorer: A Realist’s Guide to the Economy and How We Can Fix It
By Cahal Moran
With Mr Whitworth & Mrs Campion
Are you curious how the economy really works, this book explains why housing is so expensive, why wages feel stuck, and why the cost of living keeps rising. Moran argues that these problems aren't inevitable, in next term's Fireside talk he will be discussing the ideas in his book and explore what a fairer economic future could look like.
Environmental Science
Gaia: A new look at life on Earth
By James Lovelock
With Millie MacLeod
Are you fascinated by science, nature, or the environment? This book invites readers to rethink humanity’s relationship with nature and consider our role in protecting the delicate balance of life on Earth.
Explaining Humans
Explaining Humans
By Camilla Pang
With Mrs Biggs
This book explores how science can help us understand everyday human interaction—from how we make decisions and form relationships to how we handle conflict. Written by a postdoctoral researcher at UCL, it draws on both research and lived experience. As someone with AuDHD, the author shares how these insights have helped her navigate a neurotypical world. Insightful, practical, and deeply personal.
Fantasy Classic
The Lord of the Rings
By J.R.R. Tolkien
With Mrs Charlier
Indulge in a summer of the classic fantasy tale. TLOTR is a timeless adventure full of unforgettable characters, thrilling twists, and the ultimate battle between good and evil. It's going to be epic!
Fantasy Graphic Novel
The Wizard of Earthsea
By Ursula K Le Guin
With Mr Wells
A classic fantasy adventure, remimagined as a graphic novel. Follow Ged's story as he discovers his magical talent and is sent away from home to a wizard school (written 35 years before Harry Potter!) when he accidentally summons a monsterous shadow creature, he fails to banish it and must deal with the consequences.
For those in need of hope
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
By Mitch Albom
With Mr Evans
A novel ultimately concerning life, death, goodness, and the impact we have on others. The story centres on Eddie, his life and death, and the intersection of that life with his fellow humans. It's a novel that can be dismissed as sentimental, but it's also gripping, skilfully told, and appropriate for modern times.
Greek Mythology
Glorious Exploits
By Ferdia Lennon
With Mrs Howe & Ms Oliver
This is a best-selling novel, set during the Peloponnesian War in 412BC, which tells the story of two unemployed potters who plan to put on a Greek tragedy using Athenian prisoners of war who are starving to death. It’s both funny, and also sad in places.
Historical Fiction
Year of Wonders
By Geraldine Brooks
With Mr McElroy
A young woman’s struggle to save her family and her soul during the extraordinary year of 1666, when plague suddenly struck a small Derbyshire village.
Historical Thriller
Pompeii
By Robert Harris
With Mrs Atherton
During a sweltering week in late August, as Rome's richest citizens relax in their villas around Pompeii, there are ominous warnings that something is going wrong. Wells and springs are failing, a man has disappeared, and now the greatest aqueduct in the world - the mighty Aqua Augusta - has suddenly ceased to flow. Through the eyes of four characters - a young engineer, a teenaged girl, a corrupt millionaire and an elderly scientist - Robert Harris brilliantly recreates a luxurious world on the brink of destruction.
History
Histories of the Unexpected
By Sam Willis
With Mr. Lewsley
Did you know beards are linked to the Crimean War, paperclips to the Stasi, and bubbles to the French Revolution? Or that Himmler, Tutankhamun, needlework, napalm, and Victorian orphans are unexpectedly connected? This book explore major historical themes, from the Tudors to WWII, the Romans to the Victorians, through the most surprising of subjects.
History & Crime
Killers of the Flower Moon
By David Grann
With Mrs Bampton
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, as a result of the oil discovered beneath their land. One by one, the Osage began to be killed off under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case and began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
History & Humanity in 80 pages
Reunion
By Fred Uhlman
With Mrs Robbins
Are you interested in powerful stories of friendship, identity, and the impact of history? At only 80 pages long - this short but unforgettable novel tells the story of two boys, one Jewish, one from an aristocratic German family, whose close bond is torn apart by the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany. Told with quiet intensity and emotional depth, the book explores how politics and prejudice can shatter lives, even in the most personal of ways
Jane Austen Fans
Emma
By Jane Austen
With Dr Cho and Miss Smith
Beautiful, clever, rich—and single—Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for love or marriage. But she can’t resist meddling in the love lives of others. When she ignores the warnings of her friend Mr Knightley and tries to match her protégée Harriet Smith with a suitable suitor, her plans begin to unravel in unexpected ways. With its flawed yet endearing heroine and sharp insights into relationships, Emma is often considered Jane Austen’s most accomplished novel.
Maths
Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
By Ian Stewart
With Mrs Hassan
Shorter, snappy sections in this book reveal interesting facts and discoveries about familiar but fascinating topics. The author sparks your imagination by showing lots of amusing and intriguing pieces of mathematics, hoping your curiosity will lead you to dive deeper and enjoy the thrill of discovery. All welcome - no need to be a maths whizz!
Modern fiction
Help Wanted
By Adelle Waldman
With Dr Lexton
Darkly comic novel set in contemporary America. What do you do if you're trapped in system rigged against you? You break the rules of course. When Team Movement, the logistics workers of a big box retail store discover that the store manager is moving on, they see the chance to change their lives by promoting their terrible team leader. Mayhem and hilarity ensure but this deeply humane novel also offers a serious and deeply moving message about modern life and work.
Murder Mystery
And Then There Were None
By Agatha Christie
With Miss Anderson
"Ten strangers. One island. No escape.
Lured to an isolated manor by a mysterious host, they soon realise something is wrong. One by one, they’re killed—each death echoing a sinister nursery rhyme. With trust crumbling and time running out, they must find the killer… before no one is left. A chilling mystery packed with twists to the very end."
Refugee Fiction
The Beekeeper of Allepo
By Christy Lefteri
With Miss Hartley
The Beekeeper of Allepo deals with the plight of refugees from Aleppo in Syria to Europe during the Syrian Civil War. While a work of fiction, it is based on the author's experience over two summers volunteering in Athens at a refugee center. The novel explores themes of love, hope, trauma, and the refugee experience. It’s an emotional story that helps readers understand what it means to lose everything but still hold on to humanity.
Sci-Fi Graphic Novel
The Hard Switch
By Owen D. Pomery
With Ms Gray
The hard switch is coming. The mineral that fuels space travel is running out, and the scattered inhabitants of a vast galaxy will soon be stuck wherever they are. In the face of this impending change, the crew of a small cargo ship struggle to survive amongst the chaos and desperation...
Thought-provoking fiction
Sophie’s World
By Jostein Gaarder
With Mr Kirkham
An engaging story that introduces the ideas and history of Western philosophy, encouraging readers to reflect on life and the world around them. Fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen from Lillesand, Norway, begins receiving mysterious postcards that lead into a full philosophy course. Soon, she’s faced with profound questions like “Who are you?” and “Where does the universe come from?”
Thriller
Five Survive
By Holly Jackson
With Nefeli Maniadaki
"Eight hours. Six friends. Five survive.
Stranded in the middle of nowhere—no signal, no help—their RV breakdown is no accident. Someone wants them dead. With dawn eight hours away, they must escape… or find out who’s being hunted. But one of them may be lying. Secrets will erupt, trust will break, and not all will make it through the night."