Year 5 reading should be harder than Year 4 reading, and the way to make it harder is longer sentences and older books, not longer books.
The test is a year away. What a child needs now is comfort with the kind of written English that does not sound like speech.
One thing to be clear about: no West Midlands grammar school publishes a reading list, and nobody else has one either. This is a tutor's list built around what the test actually asks for, not an official requirement.
What changes from Year 4
| Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Aim | Stamina and habit | Register and inference |
| Fiction | Modern, accessible, formal voice | Older and denser, where the sentences are longer |
| Non-fiction | Fact books for pleasure | Argument and explanation, not just facts |
| Parent's job | Read aloud, build the habit | Ask why, and collect words |
Fiction for Year 5
| Book | Author | What it builds |
|---|---|---|
| The Hobbit | J. R. R. Tolkien | Formal, slightly archaic register. Superb for vocabulary |
| Goodnight Mister Tom | Michelle Magorian | Inference, because so much is implied rather than stated |
| Carrie's War | Nina Bawden | Character motive, and a narrator who is not always right |
| Skellig | David Almond | Ambiguity. Excellent for "what does the author mean here?" |
| Holes | Louis Sachar | Two timelines, which forces a child to hold structure in mind |
| The Secret Garden | Frances Hodgson Burnett | Older English and long descriptive passages |
| Treasure Island | R. L. Stevenson | A genuine step up. Try it aloud if it is too much alone |
| Journey to the River Sea | Eva Ibbotson | Rich descriptive vocabulary, gently told |
| Rooftoppers | Katherine Rundell | Precise, beautiful sentences worth stopping on |
| Private Peaceful | Michael Morpurgo | Voice and perspective, and it holds reluctant readers |
| Northern Lights | Philip Pullman | Demanding. The right stretch for a confident reader |
Non-fiction, and why it matters more this year
The English section is a passage followed by questions, and the sample passage in the partnership's familiarisation guide is factual writing about oceans, with numbered lines and questions that send the child back to them.
So Year 5 non-fiction should move beyond fact books into writing that explains and argues:
- A weekly children's newspaper, read properly rather than skimmed.
- Popular science writing for children, the kind that explains a process rather than listing facts.
- Biography. Real lives, told in formal prose, with cause and effect.
- One article a week you choose, read together, with two questions afterwards. That is comprehension practice that does not feel like it.
Turning reading into marks
Reading alone helps. Reading with two small habits attached helps considerably more.
- The word book. Unfamiliar word, and the sentence it appeared in. Review it weekly. This feeds antonyms, synonyms and vocabulary-in-context directly.
- Two questions at the end of a chapter. One retrieval, "what did he take with him?", and one inference, "why do you think she lied?". That is two of the four comprehension question types, practised conversationally.
- Occasionally ask about a word's job. "Is 'explored' a noun or a verb there?" The test asks exactly that, and it takes five seconds.
If your child does not want to read
Worth addressing, because by Year 5 the pressure is on and a reluctant reader can turn into a resistant one.
- Audiobooks count for vocabulary and register, even though they do not build decoding. A child who listens to The Hobbit has met those words.
- Graphic novels count too, as a bridge. They are not the destination.
- Keep reading aloud. Ten minutes at bedtime at a level above their own.
- Do not make reading part of the 11+ timetable. The moment it becomes revision, it stops doing the thing you needed it to do.
See our month by month Year 5 plan and our guide to the comprehension question types.
See where your child stands today
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Do not put reading on the revision timetable
Reading is the single thing that moves the language side of this test, and it is also the thing most easily ruined by making it official. The moment a child sees reading on the same list as the maths worksheet, it becomes work, and a lot of the benefit goes.
What I would do in Year 5 is keep it separate and keep it daily, and attach two small habits to it rather than turning it into a lesson. A word book, with the sentence the word came in. And a couple of questions at the end of a chapter, asked in conversation.
That is enough. Students who have read widely for years are simply better at antonyms and synonyms and comprehension, and the gap between them and the rest of a class is the widest gap I see. You cannot close it in a term of worksheets, and you do not need to if the reading is already happening.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
What should a Year 5 child read for the 11+?
Older and denser fiction where the sentences are longer, such as The Hobbit, Goodnight Mister Tom, Skellig, The Secret Garden and Treasure Island, plus non-fiction that explains and argues rather than just listing facts. The aim is comfort with written English that does not sound like speech.
How is Year 5 reading different from Year 4?
Year 4 is about stamina and habit; Year 5 is about register and inference. Make the reading harder through longer sentences and older books rather than simply longer books, and shift non-fiction from fact books towards explanation and argument.
How do I turn reading into 11+ marks?
Two habits. Keep a word book recording each unfamiliar word with the sentence it appeared in, and ask two questions at the end of a chapter: one retrieval and one inference. That practises two of the four comprehension question types conversationally.
Do audiobooks count towards 11+ preparation?
For vocabulary and register, yes, although they do not build decoding. A child who listens to The Hobbit has met those words and that sentence structure, which is most of what the English and verbal reasoning sections test.
What if my Year 5 child refuses to read?
Keep reading aloud to them at a level above their own, allow audiobooks and graphic novels as bridges, and crucially do not put reading on the 11+ timetable. The moment it becomes revision it stops doing the thing you needed it to do.