Year 9 finds their reading peak with author Matt Dickinson

Year 9 were visited by Matt Dickinson, who has summitted Mt Everest more than once to kickstart a reading initiative centred around being adventurous and aiming high.

Berkhamsted Library’s new year’s resolution is to get as many pupils enjoying reading as possible, and this week, they’ve taken their initiative to new heights…

On Monday, pupils in Year 9 and 10 were visited by celebrated filmmaker and author, Matt Dickinson. While Matt is a dedicated literary lover and reader, he is best known for something a little rarer: having summitted Mount Everest more than once!

Matt spoke to our pupils about his travels up Everest, sharing photos, videos and anecdotes of the treacherous journey to the top. Between stark pictures of frost-bitten travellers and cavernous crevasses in the ice, it was clear that this was no mean feat. However, his bravery and persistence showed our pupils the value of Being Adventurous, and as he shared stunning panoramic views from Everest’s summit, it was easy to see how Aiming High had paid off.

After seeing Matt’s photos and hearing his stories, it was our pupil’s turn to reflect on the journey up Everest. Each crafted a journalistic-style opinion piece to discuss the statement, ‘Should Everest be closed?’ This introduced a new reflective dimension to the talk, as pupils considered a range of ethical, scientific and environmental dilemmas to form their creative writing pieces.

Matt’s visit was also intended to bring inspiration and ambition to Year 9, who are about to embark on a journey of their own.

“Last academic year, we started a reading challenge for Year 9 known as the Summit Challenge,” Senior Library Assistant Mr Cooper explained. “After they finished Bookopoly Plus in Year 8 (a reading challenge that tracked progress as movement across a Monopoly board), there wasn't really anything to keep up their incentive for reading.”

“So, we implemented this new challenge themed all around climbing mountains, conquering your fears, and being adventurous. There was nobody better to kick off the challenge than Matt!”

The Summit Challenge will track our ambitious reader’s progress by matching the number of books read to their ascent up a literary mountain. Year 9 don’t just have to climb Everest: the library has designed multiple mountain challenges named after the world’s highest peaks, each with a different curated list of books pertaining to different subject areas. Designed in coordination with subject departments, these books will help Year 9 approach GCSEs, further study, or even just the wider world with a deeper academic knowledge and confidence. Brave climbers may even spark a new passion for a subject they haven’t explored before…

Whatever their route, the scheme is about showing the adventure, personal growth and future success that lies in reading more. As pupils reach the top of their own literary Everests, we hope they’ll look down at the panorama of all that they’ve read and learned and be proud of their achievements.

As we celebrate 2026 as ‘The National Year of Reading,’ we will continue to bring our pupils inspiring opportunities that spark a love of reading. Thank you to Matt for his visit, and stay tuned to see how we continue to nurture this vital skill across our community.