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MIDDLESBROUGH SCHOOLCHILDREN TAKE PART IN BIG LITERACY FESTIVAL AT COMMONWEALTH BATON RELAY
FIVE hundred schoolchildren took to Middlesbrough town centre to celebrate a new literacy festival and The Queen’s Baton Relay.
Middlesbrough Reads launched the Big Boro Book Bash on Friday, a storytelling and literacy festival created as part of the National Literacy Trust’s Connecting Stories project.
The event followed a huge day across Teesside as people flocked to the streets to watch The Queen’s Baton Relay for the Commonwealth Games.
To mark the occasion, the children lined up around Centre Square waving flags to celebrate the baton bearers’ arrival.
They then headed into Middlesbrough Town Hall for a programme of exciting events, including a performance from the ‘our stories poetry slam’ winners, Archibald Primary School.
The Archibald KALABorators, a name made up of the team of five’s initials, took to the stage to perform their winning poem, The Mystery of Identity.
This took place after the Ayresome Green Lane school team beat five other Middlesbrough schools to be named champion.
Melanie Lynas, Archibald Primary School Year 5 teacher, said the group had been practising hard in the playground for their big moment.
She said: “The children created their own poem about identity, and what made them, them. They were amazing - they practised so much.
“The children have been brilliant, and it’s been amazing for their confidence levels. Their determination to win has been massive!”
The day was also filled with talks and workshops from bestselling authors, including Louie Stowell, Chitra Soundar, Jamie Russell, Gabrielle Kent and James Harris.
Allison Potter, manager of Middlesbrough Reads and local authority literacy advisor, said: “Today there are 11 schools with 500 people from across Middlesbrough.
“We started with a poetry slam, won by Archibald Primary.
“Today, we have five different author activities, two for each school.
“It’s all about promoting reading for pleasure. I’m really pleased with the pupils - they’re all throwing themselves into it. We’ve had full engagement from all the kids!”
Allison said the kids were well
prepared for their key part in The Queen’s Baton Relay too: “The council arranged flag-making workshops, we’ve been doing Mexican wave warm-ups, and we lined the route hen the baton bearers arrived in Centre Square in Middlesbrough.”
The Connecting Stories project addresses the literacy attainment gap across the region’s 14 hub areas. Some of the exciting events include virtual author visits, creative writing competitions, book donations, and a variety of activities for families to enjoy.
Funded by Arts Council England, the events aim to improve attitudes and behaviours towards reading for pleasure, and supporting wellbeing in diverse, disadvantaged communities, following our research which shows children who enjoy reading are happier in their lives.