Reading is fundamental to academic success, but international reading surveys indicate current pedagogy fails a fifth of adolescents, disproportionately from lower-socioeconomic groups. This UK, mixed-method study evaluated the impact of two whole-text reading approaches on comprehension, using standardised tests. Twenty teachers of English and 413 students (12-13 years) participated, 44% defined as 'struggling readers', in parallel classes per school, matched for reading ability. Both groups read two 'challenging' novels consecutively over 12 weeks. Ten teachers received no further treatment; ten teachers received training on reading-comprehension pedagogies. The mean comprehension for "all" students increased by 8.5 months with no significant differential effect of training condition. However, there was a significant differential effect between 'struggling' and 'average+' readers in both conditions: struggling readers' mean comprehension improved by 16 months. Required to read whole texts, teachers in "both groups" altered practice, increasing print exposure, comprehension-strategies and supportive discourse-strategies, benefiting 'struggling' over 'average+' readers. This pilot study reframes understandings of 'independent' reading for struggling readers, indicating that the teaching of whole texts and extended reading must happen in classrooms, not outside.