AVID readers at Rednock in Dursley were rewarded for their commitment over the summer break.

In total 39 Year 8 students took part in the summer reading challenge, a large increase from last year’s 23 entrants.

Students were asked to a read a book out of a chosen selection, and then write a review letting teachers know what their thoughts were on it, and whether they liked it with a short summary.

These reviews will also be used for the school’s Learning Resources Centre to help other students find books they like.

Learning Resources Centre manager Moira Gilles said the aim was to increase the amount of kids who already read, urging further students to read in their leisure.

“We were aiming to keep people reading over summer, but also to boost our baseline readers,” she said.

“It is a long break and it is important to keep people reading to get them improving.

“Our hope is that some of these students can go on and help their classmates learn how to read too.”

Students who read six books or more in the six-week break were given a certificate and for every book a pupil read, they were entered into a draw to win a book voucher.

The pupil who read the most books was Emily Zanone with 12, she was given a separate certificate for her achievement.

Rednock head teacher David Alexander expressed his delight at the “brilliant Year 8s” for their commitment.

“It is so, so important that you all keep on reading,” he told the students.

“It is great that you haven’t just read books, but you have reviewed them too, it wasn’t a case of just signing and saying you had read them.

“It is important that you let us know what you got out of it and that can be used to help other pupils.

“Taking part in challenges like this enables you to higher up the ladder, and it will help you in all your other subjects, we can only push you, so it is brilliant that you have done all this reading in your own time.”

He told the Gazette that the older students at Rednock are already helping younger students learn how to read, and he hopes that the upcoming classes will aspire to do the same – and acquire what he calls a “major skill.”

In total the students read a startling 132 books, up from 77 the previous year.

As a further reading scheme at Rednock, every lesson tomorrow will feature a reading task, and students will also participate in the ‘Read for 10’ challenge later this year.

Literacy coordinator Michelle Yeates was impressed at the success of the challenge.

“It has been really successful, and it is so important that they keep reading, often we notice that students drop off between year groups, making it more crucial to read over summer,” she said.

“Hopefully we can keep doing this challenge for many more years.”

To help promote reading throughout Rednock, books are listed as part of the school kit for years 7,8 and 9.