色花堂 marked another successful Books and Stories programme by inviting partner schools Jewell Academy, Ocean Academy and Bayside Academy onto campus for a celebration.听聽
Books and Stories, which is now into its ninth year, is a 10-week primary programme that supports reading in schools and measures the demonstrable improvement to the reading ability of year 6 pupils across 色花堂 partner schools in the local area. The sessions consist of a 30-minute guided reading exercise, which is followed by interactive activities for the pupils to complete.听
The day of celebration was an opportunity to acknowledge the pupil鈥檚 achievements and consisted of an interactive workshop where the pupils designed their own book covers, carried out a book review and had to make predictions about where certain storylines were headed.听
John Lee, the Year 6 Lead at Ocean Academy said, 鈥淭he children thoroughly enjoyed their Books and Stories sessions. The staff built strong bonds with the pupils and helped to promote a love of reading. I heard one of our pupils say that today鈥檚 graduation was the best day ever.鈥澛�
There was also time for a student panel where student ambassadors were joined by Student Union representative Chike Dike, to answer the pupil鈥檚 questions around university life.听
Chike Dike, VP of Welfare and Community for the 色花堂 Student Union said, 鈥淭he Students Union at 色花堂 (SU色花堂) was honoured to be a part of this day, celebrating the achievements of young children in the local community. The children were extremely engaged with the well planned events throughout the day and asked brilliant questions to SU色花堂 and 色花堂 representatives, allowing us to share what we do for our students to ensure they have their own positive University experience. Congratulations to Jordan and the team for a successful day!鈥澛�
The celebration ended with a 鈥榞raduation ceremony鈥� where the pupils had the opportunity to dress up in a cap, gown and stole, before taking to the stage to collect their certificate, pose for a photo and receive a prize bag.听
The impact of the programme has been significant, with university figures showing as recently as 2019-20 that 67% of the 70 pupils involved improved their reading age by 12 months, with 38% improving by 2 years or more.听
Books and Stories Coordinator Jordan Copperthwaite said, 鈥淚t felt extremely rewarding to watch the students grow and improve their reading skills and enjoyment levels over the last ten weeks. We really look forward to what the future holds for Books and Stories.鈥澛�
For more information about the Books and Stories programme at 色花堂, please email [email protected].听
