The winners of the First Minister’s Reading Challenge 2018-19 have been announced at an event in Glasgow. Nineteen schools, one library and one book club were honoured at the celebration ceremony, where prizes were awarded by Ross MacKenzie, author of The Elsewhere Emporium (Floris).
The Minister for Mental Health, Clare Haughey, joined the celebration event and presented the Reading Inspiration Award. She also toured the showcase to view the work that schools, community groups and libraries had completed during their journey. 1,195 groups registered for the First Minister’s Reading Challenge, a 20% increase in registrations from the previous year.
Three students from Edinburgh were recognised by the First Minister’s Reading Challenge: Gus from Echline Primary School, Rebecca from St George’s School for Girls and Thomas from Liberton Primary School.
Gus (above) was awarded the Pupil Reading Journey for Primary 5 prize for being a great reading ambassador for his school.
Gus was a reluctant reader, but he was encouraged by his teacher and his family to try the Harry Potter books and the Magic Faraway Treeseries. During his reading journey, Gus realised that it was important to pace himself and focus on the enjoyment of reading.
Rebecca impressed the judging panel with her creative response to the Reading Challenge, and was awarded the Pupil Reading Journey for Primary 7. As a student with English as a second language, Rebecca was recommended books and supported by her school’s librarian.
She had never read a book in English until August last year, and has documented her journey in her reading passport with beautifully detailed illustrations. Working on her reading passport has helped Rebecca to develop new friendships, whilst also supporting her English language skills.
Thomas (above) was awarded the Pupil Reading the Most Books for Upper Primary. Through the First Minister’s Reading Challenge, Thomas, who is in primary 5, was inspired to read 417 books!
He enjoys adventure stories and is also a big reader of comic. Thomas spends a lot of his time writing his own comics, and was inspired to join the Reading Challenge after watching the celebration event last year.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge celebration event took place at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on Monday. Now in its third year, the Challenge encourages children to read for pleasure and develop a life-long love of books.
The awards recognise the efforts of schools and pupils to support reading for enjoyment and create a reading culture in their school, home or community. Schools, libraries and community groups who submitted to the Challenge received a party pack, including certificates signed by the First Minister.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge was launched in 2016 for Primaries 4 to 7 and the third year has expanded to include all primary and secondary schools as well as libraries and community groups. Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives through reading and writing, delivered this exciting reading initiative on behalf of the Scottish Government and every school in Scotland was invited to take part.
A full list of the awards can be found below.
The First Minister said: “I’m delighted that over 1100 primary schools, secondary schools, libraries and community groups from every local authority in Scotland participated in the third year of the First Minister’s Reading Challenge.
“My warm congratulations to all those who have taken part – the submissions demonstrate that Scotland really is a country of readers, and showcase the hard work of the pupils, teachers and librarians who were involved.
“I launched the reading challenge in 2016 to encourage reading for pleasure, which is key to raising attainment and improving literacy. Even more schools registered for it this year, and it was wonderful to see so many examples of how a shared reading culture can build and improve relationships within a community.”
Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “Congratulations to all those who took part in the First Minister’s Reading Challenge.
“Scottish Book Trust was delighted to see so many secondary schools take part in the challenge for the first time. The submissions showcased the fantastic work that schools, libraries and community groups across Scotland have achieved in order to build a reading culture.”
Anne Purcell, Head Teacher, Echline Primary School said: “Reading is a very important aspect of learning at Echline Primary School.
“We aim to foster a love of reading in all of our children and we are delighted that Gus has won the Pupil Reading Journey P5 award. We hope that this will inspire more children to embark on their own reading journey and we look forward to taking part again next year.”
Lorna Barr, Lower School Librarian, St George’s School for Girls said: “We at St. George’s School for Girls are absolutely thrilled for Rebecca in P7X and her much deserved achievement.
“The First Minister’s Reading Challenge offers our girls the opportunity to empower themselves through Reading for Pleasure and helps to reinforce independent thinking throughout our many year groups. The reading passports allow them to express themselves as individuals and encourages our pupils to ‘think outside the box’.”
Paul Ewing, Head Teacher, Liberton Primary School said: “We are really delighted that Thomas has won this award. The First Minister’s Reading Challenge has been a key part of our Libby Reads initiative in school and Thomas has been a brilliant example of a child who loves to try all different kinds of books. We are very proud of him.”
Full list of awards:
School Reading Journey Award:
- School Reading Journey, national winner: Cowie Primary, Stirling
- School Reading Journey, highly commended: Fernielea School, Aberdeen City
- School Reading Journey, highly commended: St Mary’s Primary, Inverclyde
- GME School Reading Journey, national winner: Sgoil nan Loch, Eilean Siar
School-Community Partnership Reading Journey:
- School-Community Partnership Reading Journey, national winner: Aberlemno Primary, Angus
- School-Community Partnership Reading Journey, highly commended: Muck Primary, Highland
Reading Inspiration Award:
- Reading Inspiration, highly commended: Whitburn Academy, West Lothian
- Reading Inspiration, highly commended: Hillhead High School, Glasgow City
- Reading Inspiration, highly commended: Dunfermline High, Fife.
Reading Culture Award:
- Library Reading Culture: Duloch Library, Fife
- Community Reading Culture: Bookberries Book Club, Argyll & Bute
Pupil Reading Journey Award:
- Pupil Reading Journey (P1): P1A class, Oakgrove Primary, Glasgow
- Pupil Reading Journey (P2): P2/1 class, Westquarter Primary, Falkirk
- Pupil Reading Journey (P3): Margherita, Notre Dame Primary School, Glasgow
- Pupil Reading Journey (P4): P4 class, Bo’ness Public School, Falkirk
- Pupil Reading Journey (P5): Gus, Echline Primary School, Edinburgh
- Pupil Reading Journey (P6): P6/7 class, Mossend Primary School, North Lanarkshire
- Pupil Reading Journey (P7): Rebecca, St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh.
Reading the Most Books Award:
- School Reading the Most Books: New Deer School, Aberdeenshire
- Pupil Reading the Most Books (Lower Primary): Kari, P1, Bishopton Primary, Renfrewshire
- Pupil Reading the Most Books (Upper Primary): Thomas, P5, Liberton Primary, Edinburgh.
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