Two families in the North East have won Greggs vouchers after taking part in a baking meets literacy competition. Sisters Izabelle and Evelyn, and brother and sister Freya and Finley recreated Greggs’ infamous Jammy Hearts during lockdown by following a recipe with a grown up.
Read North East teamed up with Greggs, who have their Head Office in the region, to help lift spirits and create a baking meets literacy feast. To take part children had to make their own Jammy Hearts by reading and following a step-by-step recipe with a grownup – helping their communication, reading and listening skills with the bonus of some yummy snacks at the end!
Our research shows that 19,000 children in the North East do not have a single book of their own at home and the region is also home to some of the most serious literacy problems in the country. Therefore, Read North East works to make reading as accessible as possible – every bit of reading counts and it doesn’t have to just be books.
The competition received lots of entries from all over the region but a special shoutout has to go to Hemlington Hall Academy in Middlesbrough whose pupils submitted more entries than any other school.
We picked Freya and Finley as our winners because they even got baby brother involved and they did a great job of improvising and creating circles in the absence of a heart shaped cutter. They have won a £20 voucher to share. Izabelle and Evelyn were our runners up and won a £10 voucher. They sent us some excellent action shots and made lots of different shapes (one of the biscuits has even been nibbled in the background!).
The aim of the competition wasn’t to make a perfect biscuit, rather it was to get involved as much as possible, practice communicating, work well as a team and to have some fun! Read North East is currently celebrating the importance of chat, play and read to a child’s development and we have plenty more ideas that incorporate literacy into everyday activities.
