Kids get creative with reading areas

Teacher Kelly Darby, who cam up with the idea, told the Chad that the children had really engaged in the competition and now every classroom has a dedicated space for children to read.

She said: “We want our children to gain a real love of reading for pleasure and from that desire the reading corner competition was born.

“The children were involved in every step of the design and creation process so they feel real ownership over their reading areas. This has made them desperate to get in there and read, read, read.”

The reading areas were judged on their creativity by Alan Scott, a parent governor, and two members of the school council.

Pupil Amber Jade Lowe, 11, one of the judges, said she thought the designated reading areas were a great idea.

She explained: “It inspires people to read and learn more.

“I love reading and my favourite books are by Roald Dahl.”

Fellow pupil and judge Sonny Walters, 11, said the winning corner, called the Enchanted Garden by Rufford Class, had something for everyone.

“We all liked this reading corner. It had a good mix of books for boys and girls and was a nice chilling out area. I think it’s a great idea and will use our reading corner to read Harry Potter books or my other favourite books about Percy Jackson.”

Governor Alan Scott added: “All of the classrooms developed such different styles that choosing just one winner was quite difficult.

“The reading areas are a fantastic idea, anything that will encourage pupils to sit down and read is a good thing, after all, anything you might need to know is in a book somewhere.

“The winning reading area had a lot of input and enthusiasm from the children who created it and that helped us to make our final decision.”

Kelly Darby said she was thilled with the efforts that had gone into the creations.

She added: “We hope that every corner will be used to encourage children to read more and more.”