Primary Times - the definitive what’s on and where to go family guide of activities and events for children of primary school age. Things to do with your kids during the school holidays including arts and craft activities, music and theatre for children, parties, competitions, days out, and family attractions along with term time drama schools, dance classes, after school clubs and sports activities. Things to do at a place near you!
Get reading over the summer holidays!
The Summer Reading Challenge 2023 from The Reading Agency is now in its 24th year, and is all about encouraging children across the UK to get reading over the summer holidays from June to September.
This year, the Reading Agency has partnered with children’s charity the Youth Sport Trust, giving the Summer Reading Challenge a distinctive ‘Ready, Set, Read!’ sporting theme aiming to keep children’s minds and bodies active over the summer break, empowering young people to forge new connections with others and unleash the power of play, sport and physical activity through reading. The theme is not only reflected in the reading list for the challenge but also the Challenge Champions who are supporting the initiative this year who include comedian and children’s author Rosie Jones; TV presenter and author Radzi Chinyanganya; Gold-medal winning Olympian gymnast Beth Tweddle MBE; A&E doctor and TV personality Dr Alex George; Paralympic swimmer Ellie Robinson MBE and sports journalist Sam Squiers .
Through the Challenge, children across Scotland, England and Wales will join a superstar team of characters and their marvellous mascots as they navigate a fictional summer obstacle course brought to life with illustrations by children’s writer and illustrator Loretta Schauer. They will be rewarded for their reading with free incentives including stickers.
The list of books selected for the official Challenge booklist includes numerous and varied options from picture books and early readers to middle grade titles by leading authors and illustrators, including: Joseph Coelho, Radzi Chinyanganya, Julia Donaldson, Joe Wicks and Viv French, Sam Squiers, Oti Mabuse, Bear Grylls, David Baddiel, Clare Balding and Rosie Jones amongst many others.
The Summer Reading Challenge shines a light on the power of public libraries as a hub for local communities and will bring together the benefits of sport, play and creativity.