Edinburgh primary is the first in the city to be named as a Reading School

 Canal View Primary in Wester Hailes has become the first school in Edinburgh to be given the prestigious Reading School accreditation by Scottish Book Trust.

The successful Reading Schools programme, developed by Scotland’s national charity changing lives with reading and writing, supports schools to build a reading culture, where every pupil is encouraged to feed their imagination through books.

Reading for pleasure is central to supporting wellbeing, improving attainment across the curriculum, and boosting critical thinking, creativity, empathy and resilience.

Canal View Primary is one of over 400 schools in Scotland to have been accredited through the programme and, having achieved the first level, the school is now working towards progressing to silver status. 

The third, and top level, to be achieved is gold status.

Susannah Jeffries, Depute Head Teacher of Canal View Primary School said: “We are so excited to be recognised as the first accredited Reading School in Edinburgh.

“Our whole school community is so proud that, in Edinburgh – the first ever UNESCO City of Literature – we are the first school to receive this award.

“We are also absolutely delighted to represent our community in Wester Hailes in such a positive way!”

Samuel, the primary seven Reading Leader said: “Everyone’s worked hard to get the Reading School accreditation, especially the Reading Leaders.

“It’s great that everyone gets to share what they like to read as a whole school. I am proud and grateful that I could help the team get the award and spread the reading bug to everyone in our school.”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “We are thrilled that Canal View Primary has achieved the honour of being the first school in Edinburgh to be accredited as a Reading School.

“A Reading Schools accreditation is a fantastic accomplishment for pupils and teachers alike, and achieving this status is a way of demonstrating a school’s commitment to developing vibrant reading cultures and the many benefits this brings.”