KS3 PE & Sport

You Have the Power offers young readers inspiring insights on resilience and self-belief from the England Lioness Leah Williamson.

Sharing her journey, Williamson shows that leadership isn’t age-limited and encourages believing in yourself. The book tackles specific challenges faced by women in football while also addressing broader issues like self-doubt and the importance of believing in oneself, which will resonate with children and young teens navigating their own life journeys and aspirations.

Williamson’s experiences, shared in an accessible and engaging way, highlight the power of perseverance, teamwork and believing in oneself.

From the hugely popular series of readable football biographies for children, this book traces six of the biggest players’ journeys to the finals, including Kane, Messi and Ronaldo. Check out the other 30 books in the series too.

Marcus Rashford’s You Are a Champion is an inspiring and positive guide from a well-loved football star. Drawing on the highs and lows of his time both on and off the pitch, Rashford shares his journey of building self-confidence and resilience, encouraging readers to focus on making a positive impact on themselves and others.

This accessible book empowers young people to persevere, reframe negative thoughts and believe in themselves. A compelling read for KS2 or KS3, it is packed with key messages of believing that you can make a positive difference.

Women in Sport is a superbly illustrated non-fiction text focusing on exceptional women athletes who became trailblazers or game-changers in their chosen sports

Each spread contains a short and interesting explanation of a different sportswoman’s achievements and a compelling illustration with additional facts blended into the design. The artwork is impressively bold and unapologetic like many of the book’s subjects and there are also pages containing infographics such as timelines, anatomical diagrams and statistics about equality in sports.

What we love is that the style and format makes the subject matter appealing and accessible to a range of children in KS2 and KS3 and we therefore think it is a really important text that inspires readers to overcome barriers and go for gold.

Kofi’s mum wants him to be ‘somebody’ – she has come to believe that because he’s black, he needs the best education to compete in the real world, and so she makes him do the exams to win a scholarship to a prestigious private school.

Kofi is successful and wins the scholarship, and his mum is overjoyed – in fact, the whole community is proud of him and keeps telling him so. Others keep telling him how fortunate he is, but the problem is he doesn’t feel very lucky – he didn’t want this, and now he just feels pressure from all around. The one good thing about his new school is the athletics club – the coach has spotted his potential, and he has a good chance of competing in the London Schools’ Championships. But Kofi’s mum doesn’t approve of him running (she wants him to focus on his studies), and the school bully will do anything to ruin his chances because he doesn’t want Kofi to outshine him. Kofi’s best friend says that he needs to start standing up for himself, but that’s easier said than done.

Running My Own Race is a book about learning to find your path and having the courage to speak up for what you want. With themes of sports, resilience and prejudice, the book is best suited to lower KS3 or mature KS2 readers. It is an engaging yet easy read from start to finish and will inspire young readers to stand up for what they want and to follow their dreams.

This is the story of a young Ethiopian boy called Solomon, who has a passion for running. He dreams of becoming a medal-winning athlete. Little does he know that soon he will need to run with all his might in a race to save his grandfather’s life. This inspiring story was shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal.

A football-themed short story by Blue Peter award winner and Carnegie Medal nominated author Alan Gibbons. This book is set in a dyslexia-friendly format and offers an engaging story that can be enjoyed by those 8 and upwards. Home Ground will engage those wanting a story about ‘the beautiful game’ but, more than that, is a story of friendship and overcoming prejudice.

This is a great book to introduce the importance of being tolerant and accepting others, irrespective of where they’re from. Home Ground is packed full of interesting information about the journeys refugees have undertaken and their reasons, which helps to give context to this story. Children also learn fascinating facts about former refugees who have been successful in top-flight teams both here and abroad.

Tall Story is a humorous and moving novel about Andi, a teen who finally meets her half-brother, Bernardo, from the Philippines.

Andi deeply wishes to play on the school basketball team but despite her passion, her shorter-than-average height is an obstacle to her success. Meanwhile, when half-brother Bernardo arrives from the Philippines, he turns out to be extremely tall – in fact, giant size!

This dual narrative is told from both Andi and Bernardo’s perspectives and the story explores the ups and downs of their sibling relationship and the merging of their cultures.

Tall Story is Candy Gourlay’s debut novel and makes for a memorable read about family in its extraordinary forms. This is a great text for Y8 readers who will appreciate humour alongside deeper themes of identity, belonging and accepting differences.

Kwame Alexander’s Booked is a sports-themed verse novel for readers aged 12 and above, all about growing up.

Told through verse, the story follows Nick as he learns to navigate bullies, family changes and first crushes with the same energy he brings to the football pitch. The dynamic style of the poetry makes Nick’s real-world challenges relatable and engaging for young teens.

The novel’s undaunting verse format and fast pace ensure accessibility, even for reluctant readers. Nick’s journey, guided by a librarian, spotlights the power of stories to navigate tough times. Booked tackles themes of family, friendship, resilience and the challenges of growing up, making it a relevant and appealing read for this age group.

A modern classic in the verse novel genre. The Crossover uses the energy of basketball to explore complex family dynamics. The story focuses on the bond between two brothers and how it is tested by new relationships and a family tragedy.

The book deals with the sudden death of a parent due to a heart attack. The father’s health decline is a major plot point, and the ending is quite sad. There is also a scene of sibling rivalry where one brother throws a ball at the other’s face, causing a nosebleed. However, there is no strong language and plenty of light to balance out the shade.

It’s impactful, easy to read, and a great entry point for students who think they don’t like poetry.

This exciting, well-written book would be great for children in KS2 and lower KS3.

The story follows Gemma and her family, delving into a secret that Gemma does not know about. This modern story intertwines themes of friendship, family relationships, courage and tennis are gripping throughout. Getting to know Gemma throughout the book, the reader comes to understand the emotions that the character is feeling. There are relatable themes and characters in the book that add to the excitement. This book could be relatable to children who may not have close relationships with their wider family or have close bonds with one main caregiver.

Getting to find out the family secret and how Gemma deals with this shows the sensitivity and courage of her character. The book is full of funny moments that a wide variety of children will enjoy. It is a lovely read and one that could be used as a class novel or recommended to a wide range of readers. As the story centres around tennis and learning more about the sport, this would be a great book to encourage children who have an interest in sport or during Wimbledon. It was a great read and is highly recommended.

Abandoned as a young child in Mumbai, Ajay does not have very much; he is orphaned, homeless and must sell newspaper at the railway station in order to survive. But what he lacks in possessions, Ajay more than makes up for in personality, determination and bravery. Ajay has a dream to one day become a famous journalist and he realises that, to make it big in the world of news, you have to find big news. His other ambition is to win the most important cricket match ever…

In a ’David and Goliath’ style, this story shows us that power can come in all shapes and sizes. Ajay uncovers corruption within his city and his loyalty to his community drives him to expose those who seek to take advantage of the innocent and downtrodden. Ajay has a strong moral compass and will fight for equality and fairness.  Varsha Shah’s descriptive writing is vivid and it is easy to imagine the sights, smells, noise and flavours of Mumbai.

There is humour and warmth within the pages of this energetic and optimistic story. The antics of Ajay and his friends often verge on the side of slap stick and there is great joy in the cricket games that feature strongly.

If you have ever set yourself a New Year’s Resolution, then you will relate perfectly to Fig Fitzherbert, the hero of the novel, ‘Fig Swims the World’. Fig would certainly be considered a ‘higher achiever’; she is a fantastic pianist, loves maths (and is incredibly talented in this area) and also loves making lists! Whilst Fig’s talents are undeniable, they never seem enough for her mum, who sets her a (seemingly impossible) challenge each New Year.

In this novel, Fig decides to take matters into her own hands and set herself a challenge…to swim around the world. This challenge is made even more ambitious as, when she sets the challenge, Fig cannot swim at all! It is an inspirational roller coaster of an adventure, with relatable characters and warm humour throughout. Her relationship with Sage, an older swimmer whom Fig meets at the pool, is particularly wonderful.

Fig is an inspirational character, and her journey gives so much to discuss around perseverance, motivation and facing your fears. It’s a brilliant read and would be an ideal accompaniment to discussions around ‘setting goals and challenges’.

Black Brother, Black Brother is a powerful story of a boy’s path to finding his voice against racism and discovering who he is.

The Ellison family have moved to Boston from New York and brothers Donte and Trey are new arrivals at Middlefied Prep, a private school. Trey is immediately popular – however, Donte struggles to fit in. As sons of a biracial family, Donte soon finds out that having a different colour skin from his brother means that he is treated differently. The pupils view him with suspicion and it is not long before Donte is the focus of taunts and jibes of ‘Black Brother’ called his way, fuelled by ‘king’ Alan. After a seemingly trivial incident during which Donte is wrongly accused, events quickly escalate and he is arrested and suspended from school. Wanting others to see him for who he is and tired of feeling invisible, Donte decides to try and beat Alan at his own game: fencing. Donte journeys to inner city Boston – a world away from the rich white suburbs where he currently lives – to enlist the help of a once Olympic fencer. But will he help Donte? Will the children and headmaster at his school ever accept him? Will Donte find out who he is inside?

This is an important story that highlights the discrimination and inequalities that many face due to the colour of their skin, bringing it into sharp focus in a way that is accessible for middle grade children. This is a story demanding to be read and I found it difficult to put down until it had reached its conclusion. I was both shocked and moved by the sheer unjustness of Donte’s situation. This is truly a children’s story for our times. A thought-provoking and important book for ages 11 and above.

A thoroughly up-to-date modern horse novel, exploring the clash of a very traditional sporting world with modern concerns about animal welfare, compounded by the knife-edge of living your life in the spotlight of social media.

The personalities of the different horses shine off the page as much as main character Hannah does. However, Hannah’s at that age where she’s starting to find out that adults are not always truthful or honest, even her own family – a coming-of-age which is painful to say the least. Hannah takes some real risks to unpick the mystery she’s uncovered, to stand her ground against adults, and there’s a great deal to admire about her. She’s extremely persistent in her concern for horse welfare and willing to sacrifice a competition – maybe her future showjumping career – to save a horse and put a stop to cruelty.

Written by a teacher, this book gives a good insight into school life including dealing with mean or difficult people, the importance of consistent effort, and how to do good research to find out accurate information.

It is presented in a dual narrative style and alongside Lili’s story we learn about hero of the 1924 Olympics Eric Liddell, focusing on his life after his historic gold medal win and leading up to the outbreak of World War Two.