Literacy with Loddon Primary

A group of Year 10 students making a difference to local primary school pupils, are our dedicated Literacy Changemakers. The course, delivered by Leana Mikula, English Teacher, alongside local organisation, ABC to Read, has provided our own students with the skills and knowledge to support others in learning through reading.

Over the Autumn Term, Year 10 were paired with Year 4 students at Loddon Primary School who struggle with reading, and each week completed writing games such as pass the story, sent video messages; reading and asking questions on the texts and wrote pen pal letters. In the upcoming weeks they are looking forward to meeting their partners over Microsoft Teams.

The sessions that were held with ABC to Read and Loddon Primary School formed part of Year 10’s CAS (Creativity, Activity and Service) undertaking, in which students commit to a project of their choice, all with a common interest in promoting character, independence and confidence.

Sophia in Year 10 enthused, “The course helped me to understand the difficulty of reading that some of these students might have and the exercises for this were really helpful as I learnt different techniques on how to teach students.” Her peer, Emily, continued “I think that it is very good that we are helping children that struggle to read. I am excited to continue helping them and being like a teacher figure towards them.”

Year 10 are now taking their skills a step further by recording their own narrations to the camera (think BBC’s Jackanory) for students to enjoy, not only at Loddon Primary, but in the wider community. The initiative that was launched in Collect on Monday 18th January as part of Storytelling Week, called on the School community to ‘give the gift of storytelling’.

Leana addressed students, “By telling a story and sharing it with a nearby partner primary school, or with younger students here at Leighton Park, we can be part of keeping the tradition of oral storytelling alive and be role models for reading and storytelling.”

Not only did Leana receive submissions from Year 10, she was overjoyed to see fellow years groups and senior members of staff get involved with the cause including Head, Matthew Judd, Assistant Head of Teaching and Learning, Jenny Powlesland and Keith Eldridge, Bursar.