Over October half term, Junior School pupils took on the Readathon challenge, with Houses competing to read the most minutes during their two-week holiday.
All forms of written and spoken word were actively encouraged to engender and promote a love of reading across the whole school community. Pupils could choose any format including audiobooks and podcasts, from fiction to non-fiction books, poetry to graphic novels, newspapers to magazines.
“We deliberately kept the rules unlimited on what the pupils should read, so they could escape into the world of imagination that all these formats inspire”, explains Stuart Birney, KS2 teacher and head of Oak House who oversaw this year’s competition.
House competitions are a big part of the school culture and bring the Highgate experience to life. They create cohesion across all year groups and foster a sense of belonging, bringing the school together in a positive way through teamwork and an end goal.
“They help pupils to feel part of the wider-school community and provide the opportunity for mentoring and role models in different classes and years. It can make what seems like a large school feel smaller; making connections that may not have been possible otherwise.” adds Stuart.
Across the four Houses, all pupils collectively read an astonishing 335,610 minutes, the equivalent of 233 days. The overall House winner was Lime (97,193), followed by Hazel (87,130), Birch (77,326) and Oak (73,961).
“These impressive results show the pupils’ enthusiasm and motivation for reading, and the whole school improved their total reading minutes by over 30,000 compared to last year.” said Stuart.
Across each year group, a special prize was awarded to a pupil who achieved the most minutes individually. Y3 Charlotte (3,130 minutes), Y4 Max (4,530 minutes), Y5 Kirsteen (4,800 minutes) and Y6 Boyan (4,514 minutes) came top of the reading charts, and were all pleased to receive a book of their choice as a reward.
The Junior School’s designated library has around 3,000 titles for pupils to explore, and books are displayed in classrooms, to embed a culture of reading across multiple touch points. School Librarian and English Champion, Lauren Johnston said:
“It’s great to have the Readathon as a House competition because we actively encourage reading for pleasure at Highgate. The competition is based on number of minutes spent reading, so everyone can take part at their own pace, whether they read slowly or quickly. It’s not based on age or ability; it’s about having a willingness to participate.”
Pupil Kirsteen managed to read eleven books stating: “I like classics, my favourite was ‘Oliver Twist’ and I also liked ‘The Wizard in my Shed’, that’s quite funny.”
Charlotte read seven books, including ‘Little Women’, ‘The Wind in the Willows’ and her favourite ‘Cream Buns and Crime’ (a Murder Most Unladylike mystery). Boyan’s chosen titles ranged from ‘Harry Potter’ to the ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’ series, and Max took an interest in Enid Blyton’s ‘The Famous Five’ and ‘The Boy At the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Q Rauf.
“Written and spoken word are important for children to not only increase their knowledge of the world around them, but also to explore emotions and the world within. Reading and writing share a symbiotic relationship. Exposing pupils to different ideas, sentence structures and new vocabulary helps to inform and improve their writing through osmosis.” concludes Stuart.
Read more about literacy in Highgate Junior School with a blog by their English Champions here.
