Local Swindon MPs, Justin Tomlinson and Robert Buckland, have attended a volunteer celebration event at Swindon Central Library to celebrate yet another successful Summer Reading Challenge.
The Challenge is a campaign run by The Reading Agency, which encourages all primary school children to join their local library and take part. Research shows that the Summer Reading Challenge increases children's reading range and their enjoyment of reading significantly. It builds confidence and independent reading, while preventing the dip in children's literacy levels during the long break from school.
This year’s challenge, launched in Parliament by Justin, saw a Mythical Maze theme where children received a mythical maze poster when signing up. As they borrowed and read library books over the summer, children collected stickers of mythical creatures to complete their poster and discover facts about the creatures as they go. This summer the reading challenge saw over 3500 children across Swindon read a total of nearly 14,000 books. There were also an extra 454 children who joined the library, so allowing them to take part in the challenge, over the summer.
The event saw both local MPs joined by the Mayor of Swindon and Swindon Borough Council Cabinet Lead for Leisure, Cllr. Keith Williams, to congratulate the volunteers who ran this year’s reading challenge.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “Having served as the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Libraries in Parliament, I have been heavily involved in the annual launch of this fantastic scheme. A big thank you to all the staff and volunteers who once again made the Summer Reading Challenge such a great success in Swindon. I am so proud of everyone’s efforts to engage with so many children, helping them explore and enjoy their own local libraries. This really has helped boost their literacy skills, confidence and awareness of the opportunities available at their local library. Well done everyone!”
