His achievement is all the more remarkable when you see the sorts of books he has been reading, with Shakespeare and Greek Classics all mixed in with the modern day mystery and adventure stories you would expect a boy to read.

Ten-year-old Daniel is modest about his achievement saying, “I just like reading, I read whenever I can.”  He explains, “I especially like adventure stories.  I am enjoying reading the Young Samurai series at the moment, I read one then I try something different and then I read another.”  Outside of school, Daniel reads most days but, just like any other boy, he also plays sports such as hockey and cricket and enjoys sailing when he gets the chance. 

Senior Teacher, Sarah Lowe, who leads on literacy at the Crescent School, explains, “We have a very positive reading culture here at Crescent, it is cool for boys to read, some of our boys in Year 6 have the reading age of a 16-year-old.  There are so many good books out there for boys to read these days.

The Crescent’s approach to literacy is supported by Renaissance’s Accelerated Reader system. Children take a quiz after reading each book that tests their understanding. Its approach promotes reading for pleasure whilst ensuring the children read appropriately challenging books.

Sarah, continues, “Pupils from Year 3 onwards take part in the reading challenge and can quiz daily on the computers before school. We find the boys respond really well to the competitive nature of the challenge.  We like to get parents involved too and hold a week every term when parents can come in and quiz with their children.  Daniel is our top reader this year and the first ever to reach five million words.”

Daniel is now aiming to read six million words and with five weeks left to the end of the school year there is more than a chance he will achieve that incredible total.