PUPILS TAKE ON CHALLENGE TO READ ONE BILLION WORDS
Mcinnes Youngsters have until the end of next May
PUPILS across the city are being challenged to read one billion words between them as part of the Stoke It Up project.
It will involve Year 7 students from all 14 Potteries high schools, who will be encouraged to get through as many books as they can by the end of May.
They are kicking off the challenge with Treasure Island and each school is also getting a selection box of other books to help promote the scheme.
But pupils can choose which novels they want to read. The word counts will then be recorded on computer or in reading logs and will feed into the grand total.
As there are around 3,000 students in Year 7 in Stoke-on-trent, they will have to read an average of five books each to reach a billion words.
Tom Pinkstone, project lead for Stoke-on-trent’s English Excellence Partnership, hopes it will spark young people’s interest in reading.
He said: “Every half-term, we will have things like new book bundles and, hopefully, author visits.”
They are also gearing up for some friendly rivalry as the school which has read the most number of words will get a prize. The project will culminate in a celebration event in May.
Stoke It Up is being funded through the city’s opportunity area programme and is just one strand of the efforts to raise literacy levels in schools.
Previous English Excellence Partnership projects have included getting boys to combine boxing with books to help close the achievement gap with girls.
Stoke It Up will be officially launched after the half-term holidays.
At St Thomas More Catholic Academy, in Longton, young people are already raring to go.
Eleven-year-old pupil Karolina Gazda, from Bucknall, said: “It’s a really good idea. I like reading before bed so I have something to dream about, like a fantasy.”
Classmate Cynthia Lemda Lemda is also a keen bookworm. The 12-yearold, from Meir, said: “Treasure Island is a good choice because it’s got so many features in it.
“I like reading, but it’s finding a book that you like.”
Zayan Khan gravitates to certain types of novels. The 11-year-old, from Hanley, said: “I like spy things and the Alex Rider books at the moment. I’m also into the Harry Potter books, which I’ve read five or six times.”
He is hoping one of the prizes will be a trip to Harry Potter World.
Eleven-year-old Elliot Groves, from Bucknall, is also keen to take up the challenge. He said: “It’s good because it will get young people back into reading.”
Over lockdown, schools found the lack of access to library books meant some pupils got out of the habit of reading regularly.
English teacher Emma Warren, head of Year 7 at St Thomas More, said: “This project is going to be brilliant.
“In Stoke-on-trent, we know there’s quite a vocabulary deficit compared to other parts of the country. The students will be increasing their vocabulary through reading.”
Research from the University of Sussex found students who read ambitious novels over a 12-week period improved their reading ages by up to 16 months.