Gail Anderson knows a good deal about education; after all, she is a former pupil of Woodham Academy, and went on to train as a teacher and set up her own successful educational recruitment agency. Supplymatch Re-cruitment, now operates in a number of North Eastern schools.
Gail also understands the role that reading plays in not only improving school grades, but in improving the person as well – by helping readers to experience other people’s lives. We may not all be able to travel the world or live the lives others lead, but we can read about it, and empathise with those who do.
This is why Gail has been taking time out from her busy schedule to talk to students at her old school about the importance of reading for pleasure. Indeed, so convinced is Gail by the importance of this essential life-skill, she has very generously offered to buy each and every Y7 pupils a book of their choice, for the nominal amount of 50p.
Woodham Academy students are currently promoting Readathon at their school, and Gail’s timely intervention has been designed to coincide with their efforts. Readathon raises money for charities working with seriously ill children, and it does so by encouraging youngsters to read for money.
Year 7 & 8 learners are making a commitment to read a book, e-book, magazine articles, etc. over the period of a week, at home, and to ask family and friends to sponsor them. 80% of the money raised by Readathon goes straight to the charities concerned. 20% is returned to the school in the form of a book voucher which can then be used to buy new, books which can then be lent out to learners to encourage a closer engagement with reading.
This will be the second time Woodham Academy have organised such an event and they are confident this year’s total will top last year’s – when a very respectable £210 was raised. The school is also keen to promote the learning opportunities that such charitable endeavours bring with them, and to that end has appointed a number of last year’s participants as ‘reading ambassadors’.
It will be the job of the ambassadors to promote and coordinate the event. Gail is happy to lend a hand; although on the occasion of her paying a visit to Y7 assembly it was the pupils who had to lend her a hand, due to struggling under the weight of a large pile of new books for the school’s Reading Rooms.
Gail has promised to return to the Academy after the Easter break to check on the student’s progress. Reading between the lines, this could be the start of a new chapter in the relationship between Gail and her former school.
