2. The benefits of reading. Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day perform better in reading tests than those who don’t It improves your punctuation. It builds your vocabulary and understanding of language. It helps you with your own creative writing because you learn how effective narratives are structured and characters created. There are endless stories that can both broaden your understanding of the world or help you get through a difficult point in your life. It develops your verbal abilities e.g. how you communicate with others. It improves your focus and concentration. It improves your imagination. It makes you interesting: just think about all the information you will acquire that you can impress your friends with! It improves your memory. This is because when you read, you have more time to think. Reading gives you a unique pause button for comprehension and insight. Readers enjoy the arts and improve the world. Readers are more likely to attend museums and concerts and are three times more likely to perform volunteer/ charity work. To discover and create yourself. With the endless amount of perspectives and lives we can read about, books can give us an opportunity to have experiences that we haven’t had the opportunity to. It reduces stress. You only needed to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the muscles. For entertainment! There’s nothing quite like curling up with a good book and losing yourself for a few hours!

4. DEAR (Drop everything and read) is an opportunity for us to celebrate the pleasure of reading. Research from the National Literacy Trust has shown that many young people don’t enjoy reading. At Prestwich Arts College we are determined to bring back the art of reading for entertainment. As an integral part of daily life, reading is without doubt one of the most important skills we need. It is students who develop a love of reading who are more able to communicate effectively and to write confidently. A DEAR session consists of getting the whole school to stop, drop what they are doing and to read, for pleasure, for 20 minutes. What is DEAR (Drop everything and read)?

5. When is DEAR? During ‘ready to learn’ checks in formation time, pupils will also be expected to bring a book and sit and read silently for 20 minutes. Once the checks have been done, teachers will also read with the pupils. During DEAR, prefects will catch pupils/staff reading and this will form the termly competition to win house points.