Our Reading Leaders

Reading - it’s something that we are heavily encouraged to do, but solely being told to ‘read more’ may not motivate us all. Elgin Academy is lucky enough to have a group of reading leaders that find innovative ways to inspire pupils and staff to take up an interest in reading. The leaders, of which are all S3 and under, are as follows: Bethan, Evie, Holly, Declan, Mabel, and Roseanna.

We interviewed Bethan, Holly, and Declan - who were presented with the question of what made them want to become reading leaders.

Declan and Bethan were already in the book club, and were quickly eager to sign up for being a reading leader.

“I think it was just the next step forward,” Bethan continued by saying, “I thought having input into what goes on for reading in the school would be quite fun to do.”

The students involved have already put several ideas of theirs into action, such as introducing an ‘Eat Books for Breakfast’ box at the school’s breakfast club. They frequently alter the assortment of books in this box, supplying students with a wide selection to choose from. They all agreed that the purpose of the box is to “encourage more reading” and to make sure it is “accessible to everyone.”

We were curious to find out which challenges they feel people face with reading, and how they hope to help others overcome these.

Bethan’s take on this is to promote reading more. “A lot of the time it is seen as homework, or no one has time for it. So, making ways for people to no longer see it as homework or finding ways for people to have time to read would be the best course of action.”

Holly pointed out that, due to the cost of living crisis, it may be difficult for some people to buy books. 

“I think mostly promoting libraries and the free resources we can use is a really powerful thing that we’re starting to look at.”

Declan shed light on other forms of reading. “It’s not just about paper books and there are different forms of reading, like audiobooks.”

A thoughtful gesture the group made at Christmas time was to gift the entire staff team one book each. They were specifically gifted Young Adult books which tied into a presentation that was led by the reading leaders. The presentation emphasised how essential it is for adults to read YA novels. 

Holly feels that “it’s very important for adults to understand them because of the stories and power they hold.”

The reading leaders of course enjoy reading themselves, and we asked them what their favourite books were. 

Bethan’s is Adam Silvera’s ‘They Both Die at the End’ because she feels a connection with it and thinks it is incredibly interesting to see what people would do on their last day.

‘After the War’ by Tom Palmer was Declan’s choice. He says it depicts the end of the second world war and Jewish people trying to find their families again and feels that the book is extremely powerful.

Finally, Holly chose ‘Can you see me?’ written by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott. She feels that she can understand the character well. She describes the book as, “a really nice way to portray autism for people who don’t necessarily understand it.”

The reading leaders share a variety of reading activities, as well as ideas, all within our school community. They allow people who have negative opinions on reading to see the hobby in a new light. If you’re interested in learning more, or even in becoming a reading leader, feel free to see Mrs Toonen in the library.