Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Boris visits prep school as part of BookTrust work
CHILDREN at St Helen’s College Prep School, in Hillingdon, were recently visited by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is currently working with the BookTrust children’s charity to promote children’s reading.
The BookTrust charity has launched its ‘Time To Read’ campaign, which encourages families to share books and stories each day and to use books as a way to explore issues that impact on wellbeing, such as anxiety or friendship issues.
St Helen’s College states that it places a heavy focus on reading, both at school and in the home, believing that successful readers become successful independent learners.
Parents at the school are asked to read daily with their child and question children to ensure comprehension.
They are also supported in doing so by special bookmarks provided by the school.
The school was therefore delighted to be approached by the Prime Minister’s office to arrange a visit for Uxbridge MP Mr Johnson to read to Year 1 children, and the pupils were enthralled as he read them The Cave by Rob Hodgson.
Mr Johnson also visited Upper School (pupils in Years 2-6) and was hugely impressed by the interesting and immersive STEAM Day activities going on all around on the day of his visit.
He particularly seemed to enjoy burning crisps to see whether their fat content made a difference to how they burnt, and chatting to the school’s director of studies, Mark Lewis, about whether a cardboard kayak would be likely to survive on a river.