Join our inspirational online book clubs for schools and students

Whether you’re an educator from a state school or college looking to motivate your 11-19-year-old students in-school or a 14-19-year-old independent learner ready for after-school inspiration, we have a way for you to benefit from our National Teen Book Club. We think everyone should have a chance to enjoy reading and grow in confidence as part of a welcoming peer community – and we have a diverse range of sessions with authors and related speakers who’ll take part in Q&As, provide insights, and fuel career ambitions.

Educator? Click ‘register now’ to  complete a short form and join us!

What’s on offer from our school reading groups?

For educators and your 11-19-year-old students

At suitable times during the school-day, our FULLY FUNDED* 45-minute online sessions focus on one hero read per term with six live broadcasts for each -educators can register for one, some, or all sessions and access recordings too.

This year, our books connect with the English curriculum, providing new perspectives and talking points to stimulate engagement and support classroom study. But it doesn’t matter what else you’re reading or studying – our focus is on promoting a culture of reading and discussion, and we’ll be drawing on books, TV, film, comics and graphic novels, and meeting speakers from a range of careers connected with book themes, storytelling, and communication.

If you’re an educator, simply complete the short form to register here

– you’ll find all the session dates and times, plus details of our speakers.

*The only optional cost for schools and colleges are the discounted books ahead of our “Meet the Author” talk.

For 14-19-year-old independent learners

Our FREE after-school live online book club sessions happen half-termly at 5pm on Thursdays. Together we’ll be exploring brilliant reading recommendations linked by a shared theme each term – like Spine-Tingling Spooky Stories and Thrillers; Heart-Warming Relationship-Focused Reads; Thought-Provoking, Imagination-Expanding Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

Via Google Classroom, you’ll be able to take part in or listen to the discussion and access resources. There’s no required reading or regular attendance needed – just join for the genres that spark your interest!

If you’re a young person, simply complete the short form to join us here

– you’ll find all the session dates and times, plus details of our speakers.

2 ways for educators and your students to access book club

Join our
livestream sessions

Our book clubs are hosted online via our website, accessed through a private livestream link shared with registered educators only – which means that you can watch them with an unlimited number of young people.

Students will also be able to submit questions during the live event using the interactive Slido tool on our webpage, or by typing in the code provided to slido.com.

Watch our
recorded sessions

If you can’t make a live book club  session, you’ll be able to watch  every broadcast afterwards in our inspirational talks library.

Alongside hundreds of other recorded sessions with high-profile speakers and Industry Spotlights from leading employers, our library will give you anytime-access to 18 book club broadcasts across our 3 hero reads for this academic year.

Search our talks library

What are our 3 hero reads to inspire your students in-school?

Jane Eyre, abridged by Patrice Lawrence

We’re excited to be kicking off our in-school offer with a beloved classic adult novel skilfully abridged to inspire and engage a new generation of readers, from multi-award winning author Patrice Lawrence.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.”

Author Patrice Lawrence will join us alongside an inspirational range of speakers to discuss her pared-back yet heartfelt retelling of Brontë’s masterpiece. This retelling provides a captivating and easily digestible take on Jane Eyre for confident readers, an enjoyable refresher, or an accessible route in for those who might otherwise be reluctant to give it a try.

“Although the story is abridged, all the passion and drama of Brontë’s original remains. A triumph.”
The Bookseller

Cuts Both Ways  by Candice Brathwaite

Our second hero read for our in-school offer is a sharp and authentic love story by journalist, TV presenter and Sunday Times best-selling author Candice Brathwaite.  

“Love is never just black and white…” 

Cuts Both Ways explores love, race, class, secrets, displacement, and grief. If your students are studying William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, you may find pertinent parallels for discussion in the story’s star-crossed lovers and the ripple effects of violence, providing a fresh perspective on a timeless text. Author Candice Brathwaite will join us for the last  in a series of sessions with speakers from the world of work and storytelling.  

“A sharp look at the realities of growing up  Black in Britain… warm and insightful.”
 Observer 

That Self-Same Metal  by Brittany N. Williams

Brittany N. Williams’ fantasy YA is our third  hero read for our in-school offer – and it’s swashbuckling, romantic, and full of the sights and sounds of Shakespeare’s London! 

“Joan rolled her eyes. They always forgot  she was stronger than them. No matter how many times she proved it.” 

That Self-Same Metal centres West African mythology and queerness within a reimagined Jacobean England. Whether your students are studying Shakespeare or not, our sessions will aid discussions around representation in stories and the historical fiction/fantasy genre. Our career-focused speaker Q&As end with author, actress and Shakespeare fan Brittany N. Williams. 

“Wildly imaginative and refreshingly diverse… taut with intrigue.”
 J. Elle, author

Why should you and your students take part?

National Teen Book Club gives young people the chance to:

Enjoy reading and discussing books

Meet inspirational speakers and authors

Explore stories that challenge stereotypes

Build confidence and communication skills

Learn where a love of English can lead

Gain careers insights and fuel ambitions

Are you a 14-19-year-old independent learner ready for inspiration? Simply complete the short form to join us for any of our live after-school book club sessions via Google Classroom with your own unique log-in. You’ll require a parent, carer, or guardian to confirm your age and approve your attendance.

What do people think of National Teen Book Club?

“Our students really enjoyed the modern format, the careers advice, and being spoken to like young adults. I really like the interactive aspect of it. It was casual in a way that you felt as though you could ask creative questions but formal enough to get proper answers and information.”

Educator

“Across the board, this was our favourite session of all of them. The author was so engaging and the conversation was exceptionally interesting! I think the careers slant was a really useful aspect of yesterday’s session. I’ve ordered a copy of his book for our library.”

Educator

“So much more than a book club! You can read books you might never have heard of and meet inspirational people. I can’t believe we actually get to ask the author questions!”

Young Person

Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions

Our in-school sessions are open to young people aged 11-19 in KS3,
4 and 5.  

Our after-school sessions are open to young people aged 14-19. 

In-school sessions  

Yes – and available after in our inspirational talks library. 

After-school sessions 

No. For safeguarding purposes and to create a relaxed and comfortable community space for independent learners, we will not be recording the sessions. If you’ve signed up, you will still be able to catch up on discussion and resources by checking out the Google Classroom if you do miss out.  

NTBC is committed to inclusivity, and to continually reviewing ways we can evolve our offer and improve accessibility.  

Our in-school sessions are suitable for any students who will benefit from hearing or participating in discussion around books and/or the world of work. It is not essential to have done any reading to join in, as the speakers will also be providing insights into their careers, responding to questions posed by our audience, and recommending other books and forms of storytelling they have enjoyed. However, students will gain the most from the finale “Meet the Author” session if they have some familiarity with the hero read. 

Adaptations you may find helpful:  

Young people can engage with the story as a physical book, eBook or audiobook (where available). eReaders allow for adjustments to text size, background, contrast etc.  
Young people can also be familiarised with a text through extracts or film/TV versions – we value these equally.  
We provide trigger warnings for all hero reads.  
If your young people will struggle to focus for 45 minutes but would like to attend live sessions and submit questions, let us know and we’ll be sure to start with those. 
If you require live captions for your group, please do let us know in advance so that we can send you a link to our YouTube live stream where captions will be enabled.
The recorded sessions allow for pausing.

We would also be very pleased to hear from any schools that have suggestions of how our offer can be adjusted to support with meeting the specific needs of their students. 

Our after-school sessions

are suitable for any young person aged 14-19 who is interested in and able to participate in online discussion and Q&A with peers and with adult speakers/facilitators. Participation can be via the chat function, on camera or via audio, and must stay relevant to the themes/topics that are the focus of the session.

Our in-school sessions   

If you register for our finale “Meet the Author” talk, we will contact you to explain how you can order a physical copy of their book, our hero read, at a discount. There is no other cost and this is optional – however, students will gain the most from the finale “Meet the Author” session if they have some familiarity with the hero read. You may also be able to get discounted audiobooks or eBooks for some titles, and we’ll share details for accessing these too.  

Our after-school sessions are totally free! There’s no need to buy any specific books to participate. 

Our in-school sessions 

To participate, the educator simply registers for sessions using the relevant links on our website. After completing the registration form, we’ll be in touch with additional information and resources, as well as a link to a private webpage with our livestream each time. If you can’t make the live sessions work with your timetable, you’ll be able to access the recording after in our inspirational talks library. We hope you’ll join us for as many sessions as possible – but they also stand alone, so don’t worry if you can’t. 

Our after-school sessions 

Simply follow the relevant links for our after-school sessions on our website – you’ll be taken to a registration form. Once this form is completed, we’ll be in touch with further information and a unique @vwex.org log-in, alongside the link to the Google Classroom where the sessions will take place and resources/discussions can be accessed! To ensure your safety in this space, you will only be able to access the Google Classroom with the provided @vwex.org log-in. You’ll also need a parent, carer or guardian to confirm your age and approve your attendance. 

No specialist training is required – both our livestream on our website (for our in-school sessions) and Google Meet/Classroom (for our after-school sessions) are very straightforward to use. 

We read a diverse range of books. This year, in our in-school sessions we are looking forward to sharing three specially selected hero reads per academic year that will link to some of the most popularly studied texts on the English Literature curriculum and provide fresh perspectives on classic reads. We hope these choices will support routes in to classic literature, provide a fresh approach to learning and revision and also celebrate engaging with the stories for pure pleasure! We are starting with an abridged retelling of Jane Eyre by Patrice Lawrence; our second hero read is Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite, which draws on the classic literary trope of star-crossed lovers; while our final read takes inspiration from (and some playful liberties with!) the works of William Shakespeare: That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams. Educators can also stay up-to-date by signing up to our mailing list. Our after-school sessions will be more wide-ranging, focusing on genre, so we look forward to hearing what books and other forms of storytelling young people want to discuss!

Speakers for Schools is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all users, whether that is in a classroom, workplace environment, or in a virtual setting. Access the full Safeguarding Policy Statement here. 

In-school sessions 

As you would expect, the educator retains primary responsibility for student behaviour and safeguarding during school hours. Our staff moderate the chat and questions, and we provide a list of trigger warnings for our three hero reads. 

After-school sessions 

Young people signed up to our after-school Book Club will need a parent, carer or guardian to confirm your age and approve your attendance. You will then be given a unique @vwex.org log-in for Google Classroom. We recommend that young people always join the sessions from a private browser window using your @vwex.org log-in, which will ensure that you won’t be signed in with another account. You will not be permitted to join the sessions if you are using a different account. You will then need to make sure that your display name is right so we can confirm who you are – instructions on how to change it are here.  Aside from accessing our Google Meets, Google Classroom will be available to access resources and discuss books with your peers! Comments will be moderated as appropriate. 

As well as supporting enjoyment of reading and the wellbeing benefits associated with this, NTBC offers a novel way to supplement careers education. Over the course of the live broadcasts, young people gain insights into the career of an author and of professionals working in various industries; and have chance for meaningful two-way encounters. As such, this programme meets Gatsby Benchmark 5. 

If you have any further questions, please email:
ntbc@speakersforschools.org

This is a button!

Join our inspirational online book clubs for schools and students

What’s on offer from our school reading groups?

For educators and your 11-19-year-old students

For 14-19-year-old independent learners

2 ways for educators and your students to access book club

Join our livestream sessions

Watch our recorded sessions

What are our 3 hero reads to inspire your students in-school?

Jane Eyre, abridged by Patrice Lawrence

Cuts Both Ways by Candice Brathwaite

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

Why should you and your students take part?

How can you get involved with National Teen Book Club?

Educator

Young Person

What do people think of National Teen Book Club?

Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any further questions, please email: ntbc@speakersforschools.org

Join our
livestream sessions

Watch our
recorded sessions

Cuts Both Ways  by Candice Brathwaite

That Self-Same Metal  by Brittany N. Williams

If you have any further questions, please email:
ntbc@speakersforschools.org