Congratulations to Rudra, Mia, Oshani, Adam, Kai and Ava for completing the Turn Around Summer Reading Challenge and winning Waterstone’s book vouchers!
We are delighted you enjoyed the books you chose for the summer holidays and were able to pick a favourite to describe. We hope you have fun going to the book shop to choose new books and Turn Around wishes you well on your reading journey.
Many thanks to Acorn BookClub for donating over 200 nearly new books to help Turn Around refresh its library stock. The books literally flew off the shelves as 25 children took up to 5 books each.
Six children also found time to write and draw about their favourite book. We are very pleased with their descriptions of the stories and characters and the very precise descriptions of why they liked a particular book. All in all a very discerning bunch, who we hope continue to be enthusiastic readers for the rest of their lives.
Starting young on your reading journey is very important. At Turn Around we do not take it for granted that children have books in the home, or at school. We encourage all our students, both children and adults to find something they enjoy reading. This can improve quality of life, but also improve health outcomes. The link between low or no literacy and poor health and lower life expectancy is well known, with effects that can span generations too. Tomiwa Owolade’s article for The Times, “Illiteracy is not just inconvenient, it’s deadly” explains the effect very well.
We believe it is never too late to start reading or to improve your reading ability. At Turn Around students receive kind and patient one-to-one support as they progress to fluent independent reading with full comprehension. We also help parents with advice on how to help children read well and to discover a love of books.
Turn Around’s learning centre in St Mary Cray is a well stocked mini-library with books for adults, young people and children. Learning sessions are bookable in advance and we welcome book browsers during opening hours. Books can be borrowed or bought for a small donation. We also welcome donations of books in a reasonable condition.
Please contact Turn Around if you would like some advice about reading or pop in for a browse if you would like to find something good to read.
Happy reading everyone!
