How to Run a Book Club for Pupils: A Complete Guide for Teachers
If you've ever thought "I'd love to start a book club, I just don't know where to begin" - you're not alone, and we're here to help. Book clubs are one of the simplest, most rewarding ways to build a love of reading for pleasure in your school, and the government's Revised Reading Framework specifically recommends them for exactly that reason. Knowing where to start is often the hardest part, so we've pulled together everything we've learned from teachers who run book clubs week in, week out, into one friendly guide.
We'll walk through it in three stages: planning it properly, running a great session, and keeping pupils coming back for more.
Plan Before You Launch
A book club that hasn't been thought through tends to fizzle out after a few weeks, so it's worth spending a little time on the basics first. Before you send out a single invite, have a think about the following.
Define your purpose. Who are you aiming your book club at, and what type of texts will you read together? Don't feel restricted to novels - comic and manga book clubs work brilliantly for some groups, and a themed club (space, dinosaurs, mystery) can be a lovely hook for reluctant readers. It's also worth thinking early about how you'll fund the club and source your reading materials.
Decide on your numbers. Setting a minimum and maximum number of pupils is often a good idea. Smaller groups tend to bring more in-depth conversation, while larger groups bring a wider range of opinions - either way, the goal is making sure every pupil feels they can contribute.
Choose when and where. We know how hard it can be to find uninterrupted time in an already busy curriculum, so decide upfront how often you'll meet, for how long, and where. Wherever possible, try not to let sessions feel rushed, as this can really affect the quality of discussion - and younger pupils will usually need shorter sessions than older ones.
Choose who'll run it. Whoever leads the club - you or a colleague - should be genuinely passionate and knowledgeable about the books pupils are reading, because that enthusiasm is contagious. Some schools have gone one step further and set up pupil-led clubs, with Reading Champions or Reading Ambassadors taking the lead instead of an adult. It's also worth thinking about whether you could invite a guest along: a parent or volunteer who can share a book they love, or bring lived experience to a text. One teacher we know invited a grandparent to a session because the class was reading a book set in the Second World War - she talked to the pupils about what it was really like to live through it, and it brought the story to life in a way no amount of teacher-led discussion could have.
2. Structure the Session Itself
Once the groundwork is in place, here's a structure that many of the teachers we work with find works well.
Open with discussion. Start by getting pupils talking - about their favourite books, something they've enjoyed recently, or even their favourite comic. If a book has been turned into a film, ask whether anyone's seen it and how it compared. It's worth keeping a bank of icebreaker questions handy for the sessions that start slowly.
Read aloud, but never force it. Invite pupils to read aloud if they'd like to, without any pressure to do so. You'll often find that once one or two volunteer, others follow their lead.
Ask open questions and let pupils ask their own. Try to focus questions on themes, characters and opinions, rather than simple recall. For example: how do you think a character felt at a particular moment, and how do you know? Some schools like to use structured questioning frameworks, such as Aidan Chambers' "Tell Me" approach, which deliberately moves you away from the role of "expert" and treats every reader as a contributor - built around likes, dislikes, puzzles, and patterns and connections.
Build in an activity. Depending on your group, this could be drama (acting out what they think happens next), creating a podcast or blog post about the book, writing a letter to the author, or even arranging a virtual author visit.
Close with a summary. Round off each session by recapping the key points, opinions and any open questions that came up. Ask pupils what they enjoyed most, or what they'd like to explore next time, and use their answers to shape your future planning.
3. Encourage Participation and Keep It Going
Getting the structure right won't count for much if pupils don't want to come along, so here's what we've seen genuinely help with attendance.
Give your club a name and send out proper invites, especially to younger pupils - a bit of ceremony goes a long way.
Involve pupils in choosing books. If you'd rather pick the text yourself, try building some anticipation instead: hide the book and read out the blurb, or wrap copies up so pupils get the fun of opening them.
Bring in outside voices. Free virtual author visits are sometimes arranged by BookTrust, or advertised on social media, and parents are often happy to come in and share a book they love.
Widen what counts as a "text". Some schools run comic book clubs, or use book trailers as a way in for reluctant readers.
Give it time. It takes a little while to learn what resonates with your particular group of pupils - different pupils respond to different books and formats, so treat the first term as a bit of a learning process rather than a fixed formula.
Conclusion
This guide reflects both government guidance on reading for pleasure and the day-to-day experience of teachers running real book clubs in real schools - right down to small but powerful details, like the value of a guest speaker with genuine, lived experience of a book's subject matter. Whatever shape your book club takes, the aim is always the same: make books social, give pupils a genuine say, and make the room feel like somewhere every voice counts.
How Pageticker Can Help
We built Pageticker, our digital reading diary, to make life easier for teachers doing exactly this kind of work. It helps teachers monitor reading, loan out books to pupils, and share book recommendations - handy both for running your book club day-to-day and for keeping an eye on its impact on reading engagement over time.
For families, it's just as useful: parents/carers and pupils can leave comments and ratings on books, get personalised book recommendations, set reading reminders, and celebrate reading progress together. And for both teachers and families, it's a much easier way to log reading than a paper diary.
