Schools in Islington are invited to exciting author events this week to mark new initiative Get Islington Reading. Authors Sita Brahmachari and Tom McLaughlin will each host inspiring events for local pupils, who are invited to share photos of the work they create in these sessions to hello@getislingtonreading.org.uk. Pupils will be notified about the events through their teachers.
Get Islington Reading is a three-year project which is generously funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington. The Reading Agency and the National Literacy Trust will work together with local partners including Islington Council Library Service, Islington School Improvement Service and Islington Education Library Service to develop a community of happy, confident readers across the borough, building on the work of local network Islington Reads. The Reading Agency will work with libraries and community groups to build reading engagement and enjoyment, while the National Literacy Trust will work with a selection of local schools to create a network of exciting, engaging activities to support and develop literacy skills.
Get Islington Reading will support families of children aged 9-14, inspiring young people to keep reading in the transition between primary and secondary school when reading for pleasure can often drop off. Research shows that the longer children can sustain a love of reading, the greater the benefits; 10-year-olds who enjoy reading have a reading age 1.3 years above their peers who don’t enjoy reading. This rises to 2.1 years for 12-year-olds and 3.3 years for 14-year-olds.
Other online activities on offer this week include an exciting performance by poet Paul Lyall, and two special events celebrating the life of local author Andrea Levy.
I am so excited to have been invited to be a part of Get Islington Reading. Islington is a very special place for me in real life and in my fictional stories for young people. I have been working in Islington and inspired by children, educators and librarians in the borough since I began writing novels ten years ago.
SIta Brahmachari, author
Visit the Get Islington Reading website for more information.