Imagine if reading for pleasure could help children in hospitals to enjoy a good story. That is just the result we will be seeing as once again students in Year 7, 8 and 9 take part in Readathon.
The students received sponsor forms this week and have been invited to get reading. They are welcome to read whatever they like, and maybe to explore books they haven’t come across before. A checklist with their sponsorship form means they can tick off as many genres as they wish, from science fiction to sports fiction, descriptions of dystopia to poetry.
Their reading doesn’t even have to be of fiction. They are welcome to read newspapers and magazines, comics and graphic novels.
The money they raise will provide an even greater choice of books for the school library. It also pays for brand new books and storyteller visits to major children’s hospitals across the country, including the Manchester Children’s Hospital and the Royal Oldham Hospital.
Sponsoring our students is easy – all students in Year 7 and 8 have now received a sponsorship form but it is also possible to sponsor them online by visiting readforgood.org/sponsor. Even if your child is not taking part in Readathon you can still support this great charity by donating online to add to the total we raise as a school.
Readathon is all about students having fun and reading on their own terms, in their own time. Please encourage your child to choose whatever they feel like reading – not just books – newspapers, magazines, audio books, or read a book together – it all counts!
We will be launching Readathon on World Book Day, Thursday 3rd March, and it will continue throughout the month. We are looking forward to celebrating World Book Day in school once again, with lots of activity to encourage students to develop the habit of reading for pleasure.
It is now well known that young people who choose to read for pleasure regularly are more likely to succeed in all areas of life and recent research carried out by the National Literacy Trust has shown that children who participate in Readathon are more likely to read widely, make greater use of the library more and think that reading is cool – what more could we want?!
