A GROUP of P6 pupils from Winton Primary in Ardrossan travelled to The First Minister’s Reading Challenge Celebration Event in Edinburgh just before the summer holidays along with Mrs Meldrum, the Principal Teacher and Mrs Wardrope, a Classroom Assistant.

They attended as a Showcase School and set up a stall displaying all the great work that had taken place in the school to raise the profile of reading. While they were there, they were delighted to learn that they had won one of the awards! Winton Primary School and St Bridget’s Primary School were awarded the Local Authority prize for their ‘School Reading Journey’ and now schools all over the country are gearing up for the new challenge.

Pupils and staff were delighted with this achievement and were excited to meet Nicola Sturgeon.

Mrs Lesley Bell, the Head Teacher, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our school has won this award. Encouraging children to read is at the heart of everything we do at Winton Primary and the First Minister’s Reading Challenge has inspired our children to widen their opportunities to read. My staff and I believe that developing a love of reading is hugely beneficial as it not only gives our children new experiences, but also impacts positively on their attainment. Our children are excited about reading and are so proud of themselves for achieving this award.”

The school planned a number of initiatives around reading such as their very own award system called ‘Reading For Gold’, holding daily drop and read sessions, interviewing pupils who wanted to become school librarians, setting up paired reading between classes and holding ‘cosy read’ sessions where pupils could bring in their slippers, blankets, soft toys and anything else to make them comfy while reading.

This is what a few of the pupils had to say about the challenge:

“I didn’t want to do the challenge at all then when I went home my sister was reading a lot of books so I thought ‘I’ll try to do it’, so now I’m reading loads of books. I discovered I really like non-fiction books. My favourite is about Anne Frank and the War.” (Antony McQueen, P4)

“I felt proud being the first pupil to gain the Silver Award at Winton and this year I like reading much better than I ever have before!” (Andrew Dent, P7)

“I used to not be the biggest fan of reading, but when the First Minister’s Reading Challenge came I’ve so far read quite a few books and it’s really good to express your feelings when you read because you get to tell your friends about it. I’ve managed to up-level my writing also and I’m sure this is because I am reading more and enjoying it.” (Isla Galvin, P6)