Editor's choice March 2010

What A Good Read!

Both staff and children from Park Hill School celebrated World Book Day by dressing up as characters from their favourite children’s books with prizes being offered for the most inventive costumes. Throughout the week there were activities to encourage enjoyment in reading such as the ‘Match the teacher to their favourite book’ competition, the ‘Get caught reading’ raffle, buddying up of older children with younger children to read, school governors coming into read with children and class teachers reading to different classes. Literacy Leader Liz Bakalou said of the weeklong series of events, “The children at Park Hill do enjoy reading. However, World Book Week is a good way of inspiring them to read even more and to try out different authors.”

“Over the last two years we have extended our key stage 2 library which now includes a large fiction section and there are plans in place to develop sections for modern foreign languages and for children whose first language is not English. There are now waiting lists for the lunchtime library clubs which include a Poetry Club and ‘Boys into Books’ Club.

There are just not enough lunchtimes to meet demand.” Wendy Bullivant, the school librarian.

Last year 81% of our Year 6s achieved level 4 or above for Reading in the Key Stage 2 Sats with 70% achieving 2 levels progress from their Key Stage 1 Sats.