Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader
Forms 1 and 2 make volumes of progress!
In 2013, a study was done by the University of London, examining the reading habits of 6,000 young people. Not surprisingly, students who read for pleasure had a 14.4% advantage in vocabulary and an 8.6% advantage in spelling. More surprising though, was the advantage these students gained in maths: an impressive 9.6%! (source: https://www.bbc.com/news/
Here at Chengelo, we value reading for pleasure enormously – students in all year groups enjoy a 10 minute reading period at the beginning of every English lesson and all students have access to our impressive library facilities. For January 2019, we have invested in another 700 new books for the library, taking in the newest titles in children’s and young people’s fiction alongside some well-loved classics, as well as investing heavily in biographies and other non-fiction. Thus there is a book for everyone’s interest!
In Form 1 and 2, every student regularly takes the Accelerated Reader STAR test – an online test that measures the child’s reading age. We are really proud of the way our students have improved over the course of the year, and at the start of the new academic year, we would like to introduce our Form 1 and 2 Reading Stars of 2018. These are the students who have made the most progress in both year groups. Progress takes into account the starting point of the child at the beginning of the year, and then measures that against the reading age gained in the final test of the year in November 2018.
In Form 1 in 2018, the Reading Stars made progress between 1 year and 5 months to 2 years and 5 months, with the most improved students being Kunda Badogomba and Mwila Mataka, both in 1E.
In Form 2 in 2018, all the Reading Stars made over 2 years of progress in the academic year, with Sean Dons in 2D making an astounding 3 years and 5 months of progress in just one academic year!
Congratulations must also go to Mulambo Haimbe in Form 1, who sustained a reading age of 16 years and 6 months throughout the year!
We are very proud of these students – particularly those who have benefited from additional reading support with staff and Sixth Form students. It just goes to show that success is not measured by your starting point, but rather the journey that you take.
So now the gauntlet has been laid down to our new students in 2019: who will be the reading stars of 2019? We eagerly anticipate the result!
