King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls

“Readathon works brilliantly with our Year 7 pupils near the beginning of their secondary experience when new pressures such as homework or travelling time may lead to less reading for enjoyment.”

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls is a selective grammar school for girls aged 11 to 18 based in Kings Heath Birmingham. Over the years, the school has raised over £30,000 for Read for Good. Ms Jenny Royall, KS3 English Coordinator, has been leading the school’s Readathon since 2005. She said:

“I have been at the school since 2001 when Readathon was already firmly established within the Year 7 curriculum, so when I took over as KS3 English Coordinator in 2005 it was an event I was keen to continue. We are always quoting the research that shows reading for pleasure is correlated with ‘success’ (in all aspects of life!) and Readathon is an easy way to promote this with students and parents. As a school, we want our pupils to know how much we value reading for fun especially because the secondary curriculum has less focus on this than in primary school.

“We run Readathon every year at the end of October before the half term holiday. For staff and students alike this is a treat after the first term back which is always somewhat of an endurance test! Pupils have more opportunities to recommend to others and find out about different books and authors. It helps to promote literacy across the curriculum as all teachers are invited to join in with some kind of reading during their lessons in the designated week. 

“The school has a real commitment to raising money for charity and Readathon is such an important part of our school calendar. Many of our children are familiar with Birmingham Children’s Hospital so knowing that the money they raise helps to support Read for Good’s programme there is incredibly rewarding.” 

February 2019