WHETHER old or young, male or female, Ellis Guilford maintains that somewhere in the world there is a book for everyone.
By investing �10,000 in its library every year and setting up clubs and workshops targeted at developing literacy, the school is determined that all of its pupils will find a story they enjoy.
And as the school has been chosen as a case study in a new Department of Education report on reading for the most able, it is not just about enjoyment.
The workshops are specially tailored to give both lower and higher-ability students the support they need to improve their reading and writing.
When you walk into the Learning Resource Centre, the effect of this individual emphasis on children is obvious, as normally-quiet pupils fight to have their ideas heard for an original story being created by a mysterious author – known only as the Story Spinner to the students.
Katherine Davison, who leads the centre, has helped organise this workshop for year seven pupils.
"During the first lesson, an author that they never meet sets up the first challenge by a letter and they have to start spinning a story," she explained.
"And every lesson, they send back all their ideas and the author – the Story Spinner – writes it into a story for them.
"It's teaching them things like character development, how to describe place settings, and they love the air of mystery about it.
"The sessions are designed for lower-ability students, so it's about getting them excited about writing because normally these pupils don't feel confident doing it. This type of workshop is really good for their self-esteem and literacy skills because they can see all their ideas in the end result."
The Story Spinner workshop lasts for six weeks and pupils attend for one lesson alongside their normal English lessons.
But it is not just during school hours that the school encourages children to read.
After-school clubs and reading award schemes make those who attend feel part of a wider reading community.
Rebecca Shot, 15, and Humaira Ghani, 15, attend a writing workshop aimed at higher-ability students and run by a professional author.
"The author comes in and gives us a subject to write about and gives us workshops and then we all read it out together," said Humaira.
"He really encourages us as well and because he's a professional author, you know it's someone with real skill and talent coming in.
"It's also really fun, not like a lesson, because it's more informal, and it's not intimidating to read stuff out at all. And by working on things like description, it really improves your writing."
Another club has proved so popular that it is credited with a huge rise in the number of boys using the library. They now borrow more books than girls nearly every year.
Members of the Mad Manga Book Club discuss the Manga series – graphic texts from Japan that are printed back-to-front.
Kyle Weston, 15, is a fan.
"They are just good books," he said. "I think it appeals to boys because there's not so much romance in the books and a lot of them contain fighting and stuff.
"Having the club means it's a really friendly atmosphere and it was just nice to sit in a room where everyone was reading."
 |  |
Rugby league The Ashes Carlos Tevez Equality Discrimination at work Peter Beagrie
No comments:
Post a Comment