As part of MP Steve Barclay’s work to encourage reading during the school holidays, his office has raised over 2,500 new books this summer for Year 4 & 5 children throughout North East Cambridgeshire.
He said: “The Read to Succeed initiative helps greatly with school literacy when children return after the summer break, and we’ve raised over 1,000 more books than last year.
“I would like to say a big thank you to all the local businesses and residents who have kindly supported the campaign. The increased number of books raised builds on a new part of the campaign this year, with the introduction of Lion Learners.
“Thanks to local sponsorship secured from Nestle, Lion Learners have been into every local primary school as part of the Read to Succeed campaign using animals to raise awareness with children of this reading initiative.
“As was the case last year, a token has been placed in the back of every book donated, so that children can take their token to the library when participating in the Summer Reading Challenge as the first of their six books from the library which forms the summer reading challenge.
“Those who complete the challenge can then win a host of fun prizes including:
• Free private cinema screening, at The Light Wisbech, for all year 5 and 6’s in the autumn
• Free private pool party for all year 5 and 6’s in the autumn
• Free activity tickets with Fossils Galore for all year 5 and 6’s in the autumn “Individual winners can also win tours of the Houses of Parliament.
“Last year, the Read to Succeed campaign resulted in a 16 per cent increase in children taking part in The Summer Reading Challenge at their local library.
“With almost twice as many books raised this year I hope we can exceed last year’s success with even more children taking part in the summer reading challenge.”
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