National winners of the Read For My School scheme were announced today – a competition that engaged 100,000 pupils from 3,600 schools across England, reading more than 400,000 books
 |
| Popular books on the Read For My School scheme |
There was a worrying survey last September which revealed that large numbers
of children were embarrassed to be seen reading.
Just a month later, at the Telegraph-sponsored
Bath Festival Of Children's Literature, a major new initiative, Read
For My School, was launched. How pleasing it is to report that this
literacy programme has been a resounding success.
Almost 100,000 pupils from more than 3,600 schools across England have taken
part and, in just two months from January to March 2013, children across the
country read more than 400,000 books, in printed and digital form.
Too often, there are sweeping generalisations about children lacking any real
interest in books. This scheme shows otherwise. As one of the national
judging panel for the award of 'Most Interesting Written Responses to Books
Read', I was heartened by the quality and vibrancy of the answers from the
nine shortlisted candidates.
The scheme (run by Booktrust) demonstrates again that reading for pleasure is
the best way of creating interested and engaged readers for the future: 86
per cent of teachers questioned said that Read For My School had
encouraged children to read more books than usual. Boys with average and
lower reading ability were the pupils most motivated by the option to read
online (via free downloads), according to the teachers who were polled.
What is very telling, too, is the range and quality of the books which were read in eight stimulating categories (Laugh out Loud was the most popular category) including 50,000 historical titles read by this generation of Year 5 and 6 pupils.
Indeed, the three online books that proved most popular were a historical tale about the Titanic tragedy by Jane Penrose, a comedy version of the Cinderella tale by Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler and a factual account of the story of chocolate by Caryn Jenner. Isn't it great to see that 8,110 children opted to read The Story of Anne Frank by Brenda Ralp? Isn't it great that so many children want to read about and understand such a significant figure in world history?
There have been a number of fine literacy schemes recently – including the National Literacy Trust campaign 'Reading Stars', with Premier League footballers – but what is so pleasing about Read For My School is its evidence that children still love reading books. And while children still want to read printed book, the scheme also demonstrates that technology can play a part in increasing the popularity of reading: 49% of books were read from a free online library of 46 titles provided by the Pearson Foundation.
The percentage of pupils who said they had read more than 10 books in the previous four weeks had more than trebled, from 11% to 39%, and 80% think their school should take part in 2014.
Author and Read for My School spokesperson Jeremy Strong said: “I’m not at all surprised to see that funny books have come out top in this brilliant reading competition. I’ve always felt strongly that adding a sense of fun to stories is the best way to turn a child into a reader so I’m delighted to hear that thousands of children across the country feel the same. It’s thrilling to see how many pupils have engaged with Read for My School and gained a love of reading that will last them a lifetime.”
The winners of this year’s competition were honoured this morning at a ceremony in London. Megan Benson (9) and Jack Casey (10) were crowned national winners. Megan won the 'Most Books Read’ award (for devouring 273 books during the two months of the competition) and Jack won the national title for the 'Most Interesting Written Responses to Books Read', with Anna Baird the runner-up.
Both get 1,000 books for their school as part of their prize. What a boon to those two schools, Webber’s Primary School in Devon and Holt Voluntary Controlled Primary School in Wiltshire. What a great message to their fellow pupils. Embarrassed to read? You've got to be kidding.
We all want our children to be inspired by reading so let's salute a competition that helps kids, their parents and their teachers to foster a lifelong love affair with books. We all benefit.
The Read For My School top 10 books read online:
1 Titanic Tragedy (13,316)
2 Cinderella: The Real Story (12,574)
3 The Story of Chocolate (12,2020)
4 My Brother's Famous Bottom (11,074)
5 Dead Sick: Incredible Medicine (8,515 )
6 101 Things to Do Before Secondary School (8,284)
7 Prehistoric Predators (8,112)
8 The Story of Anne Frank (8,110)
9 The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour-Dog (7,253)
10 The Mystery of the Poisoned Pudding (7,055)
What is very telling, too, is the range and quality of the books which were read in eight stimulating categories (Laugh out Loud was the most popular category) including 50,000 historical titles read by this generation of Year 5 and 6 pupils.
Indeed, the three online books that proved most popular were a historical tale about the Titanic tragedy by Jane Penrose, a comedy version of the Cinderella tale by Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler and a factual account of the story of chocolate by Caryn Jenner. Isn't it great to see that 8,110 children opted to read The Story of Anne Frank by Brenda Ralp? Isn't it great that so many children want to read about and understand such a significant figure in world history?
There have been a number of fine literacy schemes recently – including the National Literacy Trust campaign 'Reading Stars', with Premier League footballers – but what is so pleasing about Read For My School is its evidence that children still love reading books. And while children still want to read printed book, the scheme also demonstrates that technology can play a part in increasing the popularity of reading: 49% of books were read from a free online library of 46 titles provided by the Pearson Foundation.
The percentage of pupils who said they had read more than 10 books in the previous four weeks had more than trebled, from 11% to 39%, and 80% think their school should take part in 2014.
Author and Read for My School spokesperson Jeremy Strong said: “I’m not at all surprised to see that funny books have come out top in this brilliant reading competition. I’ve always felt strongly that adding a sense of fun to stories is the best way to turn a child into a reader so I’m delighted to hear that thousands of children across the country feel the same. It’s thrilling to see how many pupils have engaged with Read for My School and gained a love of reading that will last them a lifetime.”
The winners of this year’s competition were honoured this morning at a ceremony in London. Megan Benson (9) and Jack Casey (10) were crowned national winners. Megan won the 'Most Books Read’ award (for devouring 273 books during the two months of the competition) and Jack won the national title for the 'Most Interesting Written Responses to Books Read', with Anna Baird the runner-up.
Both get 1,000 books for their school as part of their prize. What a boon to those two schools, Webber’s Primary School in Devon and Holt Voluntary Controlled Primary School in Wiltshire. What a great message to their fellow pupils. Embarrassed to read? You've got to be kidding.
We all want our children to be inspired by reading so let's salute a competition that helps kids, their parents and their teachers to foster a lifelong love affair with books. We all benefit.
The Read For My School top 10 books read online:
1 Titanic Tragedy (13,316)
2 Cinderella: The Real Story (12,574)
3 The Story of Chocolate (12,2020)
4 My Brother's Famous Bottom (11,074)
5 Dead Sick: Incredible Medicine (8,515 )
6 101 Things to Do Before Secondary School (8,284)
7 Prehistoric Predators (8,112)
8 The Story of Anne Frank (8,110)
9 The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour-Dog (7,253)
10 The Mystery of the Poisoned Pudding (7,055)
0 comments:
Post a Comment