PUPILS at Hazelkdown Primary School, Teignmouth, are ‘buzzing’ with excitement about their reading initiative.

After donating money to help buy books for the scheme, members of Teignmouth Rotary Club called in to the schpool to observe it in action.

‘Book Buzz’ is a reading initiative that has the fundamental aim of encouraging pupils to read for pleasure.

Each day, as part of the school’s carousel of reading-based activities, a small group of children in each class are able to select reading material of their choosing from their class book shelves. They then have time during the session to enjoy their chosen texts.

Research over many years has indicated that reading increases an individual’s vocabulary. In fact, it has been suggested that 80% of our vocabulary comes directly from what we read. Furthermore, there is also evidence to suggest that a child’s vocabulary is a key predictor of educational success – the wider the vocabulary, the more successful a child is likely to be.

Research also indicates that reading opens doors and is a key determiner of a child’s future academic achievement, wellbeing and success in life. Put simply: being able to read significantly broadens the range of work and life opportunities a person can access whereas being unable to read narrows them.

One of the most incredible things about reading – in particular being a highly engaged reader – is that it is not defined by socio-economic class and can support individuals to overcome their background / break down barriers.

International research has shown that 15-year-olds whose parents have the lowest occupational status but who are highly engaged in reading obtain higher average reading scores in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests than students whose parents have high or medium occupational status but who report to be poorly engaged in reading.

Here’s the school’s ‘why?’

‘If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books.’ (Roald Dahl)

‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’ (Dr Seuss)

Deputy headteacher Lee Goodenough says: ‘We introduced the initiative in early December 2021, when we stocked the shelves and wrapped them as a Christmas present for the children to open on their return from the weekend.

‘Each class has a selection of texts, which have been selected to match their interests. Examples of the type of texts include short stories, Guinness Book of World Records, annuals and magazines.

‘Due to funding constraints, we only had a budget of £1,000 when planning the initiative (£400 of which was spent on the bookcases).

‘This meant that we used many books that we already had in school and purchased some new books from The Works, who kindly offered us a discount; the majority of the annuals and magazines that have been purchased have come from sites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace and bought in bulk from private sellers.

‘Following a funding request made to our local (Teignmouth) Rotary Club, we then received a further £600 to support with purchasing materials.

‘This money was used to purchase annual subscriptions to three magazines (National Geographic for Kids, Science & Nature and Storybox), which have benefitted pupils across the school.

Five Rotarians visited Hazeldown to witness ‘Book Buzz’ in action. This visit had been delayed due to covid restrictions that have previously been in place.’