Member Article

Young readers reap rewards with Waterstones and The Education Network

Pupils from a primary school in Cramlington are to see their work on display at a major book retailer in Newcastle thanks to a competition organised by The Education Network.

Children at Cragside Church of England Primary School were given the opportunity to take part in the inter-school competition to have their work displayed at Waterstones as part of their World Book Day celebrations.

The competition, which ran between February and March 2017 saw children from across key stages one and two completing various different literature-based tasks set by their class teachers, based on their favourite books.

Year Six class teacher at Cragside Church of England Primary School, Rachel Middis, explained:

“At Cragside Primary, we place a really strong emphasis on reading and writing and we are always looking for new ways to encourage the children to engage with books.

“When The Education Network approached us about the World Book Day competition they were running in conjunction with Waterstones, we thought it sounded like a great opportunity to celebrate reading in a fun way that would get the whole school involved.”

Following a special assembly given to launch the competition in February, class teachers from each year group set to work planning a book-based activity for their class to complete, ranging from new front cover designs to character profiles, book reviews to original poetry based on the book, depending on the age and abilities of the children.

After submitting their entries in March, four pieces of work from each key stage were selected to go through to the final judging panel before the overall winners were chosen.

Scooping the prize for key stage one was Kayla Greig aged 6. Kayla received a £15 book token from Waterstones for her review of Jill Tomlinson’s classic ‘The owl who was afraid of the dark’, while the grand prize winner from key stage two, Katie Charlton aged 9 received a £25 book token and will have her entry, a book review of Cressida Cowell’s ‘How to train your dragon’, put on display on one of the columns in the Waterstones Blackett Street branch.

Michelle Giles from The Education Network said:

“This is the second time that The Education Network has worked with Waterstones in Newcastle on a project to help promote reading at Cragside Church of England Primary School, the first being the sponsorship of a book advent calendar for the school last Christmas.

“We are always on the lookout for opportunities to add value to our client schools, whether that be through donations of book tokens or school equipment, or through sponsorship of grassroots sports teams.

“We are passionate about learning and the schools we work with, so it is great for us to be able to give something back.”

The Education Network is a leading provider of professional recruitment and training services to the education sector. Specialising in long-term cover and permanent placements, The Education Network is dedicated to providing high-quality, flexible supply solutions to its client schools, helping to minimise the disruption to the children’s learning through staff absences.

To find out more about The Education Network, visit: www.theeducationnetwork.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Round Table Solutions Ltd .