Spread the word, Merwa does reading challenge by the book
LITTLE Merwa Khan could be Manchester’s most dedicated bookworm – aged just ten.
The schoolgirl from Longsight has just become the first in her class to read FIVE MILLION words.
Over the course of the last school year, Merwa made her way through dozens of weighty novels including classics such as Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
She also read The Railway Children and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Michael Cooke, headteacher at Plymouth Grove primary school, said staff are able to monitor progress thanks to a software programme called Accelerated Reader.
To reach her mammoth milestone, Merwa needed the help of her local library in Longsight.
She recently gave flowers and a card to staff as a thank you.
Mr Cooke told the M.E.N: “Our school values are respect, equality and friendship and Merwa is a fantastic role model.
“It shows what can be achieved with such resilience and determination.”
Coun Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure, said: “Catching the reading bug at an early age is proven to be beneficial and even just ten minutes a day will make a big difference to a child’s educational development and well-being.”