Important update from TheSchoolRun
For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.
What this means for subscribers:
- Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
- In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
- As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.
A few changes to be aware of:
- The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
- The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.
*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.
14 of the best books for children for summer 2014

![]() | The epic adventureThe Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt (Pushkin, £7.99) A classic of European children's literature and international best-seller, published for the first time in English in 2013, this is the gripping tale of a squire, a dangerous mission and a kingdom in peril. Set off on an adventure through forests, across mountain ridges and along the Rainbow River, long ago when knights still roamed the land... | |
The supernatural chillerLockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud (Corgi, £7.99) London is a city stalked by spectres, and brave agent Lucy Carlyle is up against dangerous apparitions as the newest member of Lockwood & Co, a ramshackle psychic detective agency. Chilling and suspenseful... will you dare read it after dark? | ![]() | |
![]() | The laugh-out-loud comic memoirDaisy and the Trouble with Sports Day by Kes Gray (Red Fox, £5.99) "Athletes on the telly say that if you want to come first in a race then you have to get 'in the zone'. The only zone I ended up in after Sports Day was the Headmaster's office." Daisy's back... and this time she's competing in her school sports day, with predictably disastrous results. A very funny choice for newly-independent readers (and there are lots of other books in the series if your child is hooked!). | |
The adventure in space and timeGeorge and the Unbreakable Code by Lucy & Stephen Hawking (Random House, £12.99) A brilliant blend of adventure and science. Stephen Hawking and his daughter's "George" space stories explain complex cosmology to young readers with illustrations and Dr Who-like escapades. In George and the Unbreakable Code the world's biggest and best computers have been hacked... can George and Annie find out who is behind it – and where in space they're hiding? | ![]() | |
![]() | The junior chick lit readHattie B, Magical Vet: The Dragon's Song by Claire Taylor-Smith (Puffin, £4.99) A brand new series about magical creatures and the brave, resourceful human girl who helps them stand up to wicked King Ivar. Mythical adventure for readers aged 7+, with three more books in the series already confirmed. | |
The historical caperDiary of Dorkius Maximus in Pompeii by Tim Collins (Buster Books, £7.99 ) Fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid will love the adventures of Dorkius Maximus, a Roman boy who's planning to become a great hero... just as soon as his friends stop picking on him and his family start listening to him! In this, his third adventure, Dorkius is spending a boring summer in sleepy Pompeii when the local volcano starts making some distinctly demonic rumbles... | ![]() | |
![]() | The BFF memoirViva Alice! by Judi Curtin (O'Brien, £6.99) A story of friendship, growing up and holiday fun from Ireland's most popular author for girls, Judi Curtin. Viva Alice! is the eighth book in the Alice and Megan series, perfect for girls aged 9+ who've run out of Jacqueline Wilson books and need a thoroughly enjoyable new best-friends read to enjoy. | |
The modern classicMrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien (Puffin, £6.99) | ![]() | |
![]() | The non-fiction survival manualDanger is everywhere (Puffin, £7.99) Do you have what it takes to be a dangerologist? Every kind of everyday danger is analysed and averted in this laugh-out-loud illustrated manual, packed with tips to help amateur dangerologists stay safe in supermarkets, in gardens, on wheels and in snow (the most dangerous substance known to man). Beware! | |
The best beach readSweet Honey by Cathy Cassidy (Puffin, £12.99) Honey Tanberry moves to Australia to live with her dad, but school is very different to what she's been used to in England, and it's hard to know who to trust, in real life and online. The latest instalment in the Chocolate Box Girls series, Sweet Honey covers cyber-bullying, new beginnings and growing up with warmth and understanding. | ![]() | |
![]() | The slapstick comedy Kidnapped! The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour-Dog's Sizzling Summer by Jeremy Strong (Puffin, £5.99) The hundredth book from the King of Children's Comedy, Jeremy Strong. Streaker, the wacky Hundred-Mile-An-Hour-Dog, is on her summer holidays and hysterical mishaps can't be far behind. Expect plenty of giggling from readers aged 7+! | |
The girl-detective mystery Murder most unladylike by Robin Stevens (Corgi, £6.99) There haven't been many truly exciting mysteries for Dairy and Hazel's secret detective agency to investigate at Deepdean School for Girls, until the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, is found dead in the Gym. Yet five minutes later her body has disappeared, and the agency is faced with proving the murder even took place before they can solve the crime... | ![]() | |
![]() | The poo-filled picture book The dinosaur that pooped the past! by Tom Fletcher & Dougie Poynter From the creators of the super-popular The dinosaur that pooped Christmas comes a new, toilet-humour-filled adventure that's sure to appeal to young readers )and their younge siblings). We love the rhyming text, colourful illustrations and (of course) the smelly, explosive eruptions. | |
The super-cool graphic novel Flora & Ulysses The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (Walker Books, £6.99) Like all the best superhero stories, it begins with a tragic accident (a squirrel being almost consumed by a vacuum cleaner) that results in unexpected consequences (misspelled poetry, among other things)... A heart-warming adventure told with a mixture of text and comic-style graphic novel, making it perfect for more reluctant readers. | ![]() | |


Claim Your Summer Challenges Pack!
- 30 exciting challenges
- Weird and wonderful facts
- Keep them busy the whole summer!