Strontian Primary School has become the first school in the Highland region to achieve Gold Accreditation in the Scottish Book Trusts Reading School Award.
Staff and pupils are all passionate about reading and do so daily in small reading groups/individually and listen to each other read aloud.
A primary seven pupil at the school commented: “I love recommending books to other people because, if I’ve enjoyed the world inside the book, then maybe so will my friends.”
The school also has a weekly dedicated whole school reading/story time where Principal Teacher Mrs Patterson reads to them.
“We have all thoroughly enjoyed listening to books including ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Q Rauf and just recently ‘Twitch’ by M G Leonard,” she told us.
A P5 pupil added: “Mrs P reads and she does voices and sometimes reads quietly and it gets so exciting.”
Pupils also have close links to Ardnamurchan library, which is located in the High School, next door.
Helen Tait, librarian, said: “The children of Strontian Primary School are all great readers, and at their book club they were all eager to find out about the stories I enjoyed when I was their age.
“They were also keen to show me the work they have done on their beautiful review book that they are all putting together so that they can recommend titles to others.”
A Reading Team made up of pupils is very popular while the children also write to their favourite authors and hope to create an inspirational Author’s Wall displaying the
replys to celebrate achieving Gold.
In an email, congratulating the school, the Reading Schools project manager said: “It was very inspiring to read about all your hard work as a school that has gone into building and sustaining a reading culture.
“The huge amount of work and dedication you have put into the programme really shone through in your application – what an incredible reading environment for your learners.”
Reading Schools is an accreditation programme for schools that are committed to building and sustaining a culture of reading for their learners and communities.
Find out more about the Reading Schools Award at www.readingschools.scot.
Photograph: Strontian Primary pupils absolutely adore their reading sessions. NO_F48_StrontianPrimarySchool_23_ReadingAward 01