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Programme has a dramatic impact on students' reading abilities

The reading age of a group of Year 7 students has increased by 379 months since they started being mentored by our Sixth Formers.

The reading age of a group of Year 7 students has increased by 379 months since they started being mentored by our Sixth Formers.
The young students meet with our Sixth Formers twice a week during tutor time to read and take part in a range of literacy activities.
Their reading abilities were tested before the project and again at the end of last term and the results have shown a grand total of 379 months in reading age increases across the group of 25 students.
The increases in reading ages for individual students ranged from one month to, in one case, five years and four months.
Librarian Amy McKay said: “The results are fantastic - a grand total of 379 months in reading age increases across the group.
“Some of the students have completely surpassed our expectations.
“Peer mentoring is great for the younger students because it means they’re working with someone in their peer range who they look up to and who can give them some guidance.
“It also gives the older students a chance to take on some extra responsibility and become a role model.
“ Some of the increases are, of course, due to an increase in enthusiasm and confidence rather than reading ability, but that's great in itself.”
Year 7 student Sara Ledencan has been taking part in the scheme. She said: “It’s been really fun and it has helped me.
“I read a lot at home and this has made me want to read even more.”
Her mentor, Year 12 student Megan Hogg, said: “I took part in a mentoring scheme in primary school and I really enjoyed it so I wanted to take part in this one too.
“Sara is doing really well and her results show her reading has improved.
“This scheme is also about improving the relationships between the older and younger students.
“Hopefully it will give Sara a feel for what’s to come for her in terms of what is expected of the older students and what life is like in Sixth Form.
“In turn she is reminding me that school can be fun. As you get older you feel that you’re working all the time and when I see her around school having fun with her friends it reminds me that that is part of school life too.”
All the Sixth Formers receive training before the programme which  teaches them about the difficulties faced by some readers and suggests ways they can assist them.
This term there are 14 Year 7 students and 14 Sixth Form mentors taking part in the project.

(Pictured are Year 7 student Sara Ledencan with Sixth Form mentor Megan Hogg.)