I know he'll have trouble accessing the syllabus as his reading is quite poor (tested by his tutor last Easter as being 7.5 years when he was just 10).
It would be helpful to know what reading test the tutor used. Most tests that I know of tend to test comprehension rather than word reading skills and it is difficult to tell from the result whether the problem lies with decoding skills (the ability to work out what unfamiliar words 'say') or comprehension skills (knowing what words 'mean'). A poor score on a standard Reading & Comprehension test could indicate that one or the other of these skills is poor, or that both of them are.
If decoding skills are poor, then Toe by Toe might help (though some children find it very boring and are very resistant to it). If it is vocabulary he will need introducing to a wide range of words (in reading and conversation), working on word meanings and where/how to use them.
Sadly, although vocab. skills are enhanced by reading, poor readers in schools are often given very little reading to do, and that of a very simple nature, so they don't get the opportunity to extend their vocabulary. It ends up as a vicious circle.
Having said that, if he has a extensive spoken vocabulary I would suspect that it is the decoding skills that are lacking.
For decoding, another programmme worth looking at is Phonics International, which is completely 'age neutral' and can be accessed at whatever level is needed. I find that most 'struggling readers' are perfectly familiar with the 'simple' letter/sound correspondences that they were taught in YR/1, but don't know the more complex ones. Phonics International has free assessments which help to identify the gaps in phonic knowledge and resources to address this.
www.phonicsinternational.com
You'll also find lots of advice on the website on supporting reading and spelling.
I know it is a bit late now, with choices already made for secondary places, but, when you looked at his prospective secondary school did you find out what support they would offer for struggling readers?