City Academy Whitehawk – Read All About It!
World Book Day is upon us, and as usual, classrooms across the city are brimming with overexcitement, fancy dress costumes and enthusiastic conversations about favourite books.
First celebrated in 1996, World Book Day is about encouraging children from all backgrounds to read for their own enjoyment, and on visiting City Academy Whitehawk last month, encouraging a love of reading is exactly what was happening in every classroom throughout the school.
East Brighton was delighted to support with funding for the school’s book gifting last Christmas, a project that enabled every child to receive a specially chosen gift-wrapped book to take home, and a subsequent invitation to visit the school and learn more about the school’s passion for promoting the benefits of reading was both inspiring and brilliant.
On visiting the school, I was met with a warm welcome from the school’s reception staff, and then met with Deputy Head Florella Scozzafava.
Florella’s evident passion for encouraging a love of books and ensuring that all children develop the skills to become confident readers within the school was inspiring.
Florella spoke about the benefits of reading and the school’s additional incentives. “Reading books is an amazing way to learn more about the world, build empathy and imagine what life is like for others. Reading is a brilliant mental health strategy, and we promote children to see reading as this. Getting lost in the world of a book can be just the distraction or screen break that is needed”.
“We have a half-termly Reading Raffle where children earn tickets through reading goals to win a book. We always have a broad selection of current and popular books and a ‘Choose Your Own’ option. Alongside this we have half-termly visits to our local library.”
Going on a tour of the school with Florella during each class’s main, daily reading lesson was a fantastic and uplifting way to learn more about how much reading is encouraged.
On a visit to a wonderful Year 3 class, reading certificates were given out along with the latest Reading Raffle winner announcement.
Every child in the classroom was engaged and most were asking questions about books, wanting to share what they were currently reading, and the final question of the classroom visit “When’s World Book Day?”
The school’s very well-stocked school library underwent significant refurbishment a year ago, has a ‘The Wilderness’ theme and a reading tent, and it’s amazing.
Florella spoke proudly about the library. “We were so lucky to have Sue Hendra (author of Supertato books) and Steve McCarthy (author of The Wilderness) here to open the library – it was a great day!
We also have book clubs for both staff and students! We are always looking for new opportunities to enthuse children about reading and can’t wait to celebrate World Book Day this year!”
“The school puts many things in place to promote this right from the start, with children learning how to understand the letters that make up words, and words that make up sentences. They are immersed in language and stories, continuing throughout the school into gradually more complex reading lessons.”
Florella spoke about the lifelong positive impacts of becoming someone who enjoys reading, and chooses to do so in their own time.
Nurturing a love of reading within schools really does make a difference to so many lives, and benefits so many children throughout their education and beyond!
You can read more about City Academy Whitehawk here and how reading was positively reported on by Ofsted here.