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Let a Million Books Bloom Nationwide Read for My School Competition 2016
A national reading competition aimed at getting children to read 1,000,000 books in three months, has kicked off this week.
Award winning children’s author Robin Stevens, whose Murder Most Unladylike Mysteries series have been a massive hit with school children, joined pupils at Swaffield Primary School in Wandsworth to celebrate the competition’s launch.
Last year 332 books were read by 17 pupils from the school during the competition period. Nationwide, entrants read 700,000 books with 3,500 schools taking part, involving more than 227,000 pupils.
Children’s author, Robin Stevens said: ‘'I'm so excited to be part of BookTrust's Read for My School competition to help the nation's kids get reading. I believe that reading should be fun and exciting, and I know that there's a book out there that's right for everyone. I'm delighted to be helping spread that message. Good luck to everyone who takes part, and I'll be cheering them on all the way!”
The Read for My School annual competition challenges children aged 7 – 13 to read as many books as they can during the spring term, with prizes for the winning schools. The competition runs between 18 January and 15 April 2016.
With access to an unrivalled selection of 100 free books through a dedicated website, the competition can transform reading cultures in schools. With titles chosen to rekindle and rejuvenate enthusiasm for reading, we expect more schools than ever to sign up.
Book titles include: Stig of the Dump by Clive King – Penguin; The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling – Penguin; Five Children and It by E. Nesbit – Penguin; The Littlest Viking by Sandi Toksveig - Random House and Truckers by Terry Pratchett – Random House.
The competition winners will be announced at a celebration event in central London in June. Prizes will go to schools that get lots of children reading, and to a handful of reading Legends, children celebrated for doing AMAZING things on their reading journey, such as overcoming personal or educational difficulties to read their books.
BookTrust Chief Executive, Diana Gerald, said: “This competition brings an element of fun and community to something which is usually a private activity. Pupils can choose from a wide variety of free online books, or they can read their own books. This is not about teachers telling children to read only the classics, it’s about pupils reading books they choose in the way they prefer-physical or online, and helping their school win the competition, and of course, encouraging them to continue reading long after the competition has finished.”
Key Stage 2 Co-ordinator at Swaffield Primary School, Edward Walden, said: “We are really excited about taking part in the competition and having access to so many book titles. We know how important it is for children to enjoy reading and this competition brings in the group element too, which is fun!”
Wandsworth Council spokesperson for Children and Young People, Cllr Kathy Tracey, OBE, said: “Giving children a love of reading is probably the greatest gift a parent or teacher may pass on to their children. Nurturing young readers to enjoy books throughout their lives is a wonderful gift. I was a slow reader and I have fond memories of the teacher who inspired me to persevere to become an avid adult reader. BookTrust’s competition to encourage children to read together or on their own, to experiment with different books and different styles, is a great way to set them on the road.”
Director of Social Impact Programs at Pearson, Jennifer Young, said: "We're really proud to support BookTrust's Read for My School competition once again this year as part of our Project Literacy campaign. And we're looking forward to getting even more students involved and helping them discover the joy of reading. We set an ambitious goal to read one million books together by the end of the competition - with so many schools participating and so many great stories to read, we're confident we can do it."
The competition is run by Pearson and reading charity BookTrust with support from Penguin Schools and Pearson Education. It is free to take part and any school can sign up to access the exclusive online library and resources to help pupils get fired up about the competition.”
To register for the RFMS competition go to: www.readformyschool.co.uk or www.booktrust.org.uk/programmes/primary/read-for-my-school/
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