Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe was ‘delighted’ to welcome the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.
The Mayor was able to hear about exciting programmes, such as Year 10 pupils helping younger pupils from Newall Green Primary School with reading and mentors from local organisation, BW3 (Business Working With Wythenshawe) visit the school to help Year 7 with reading.
The school is very keen to promote a love of reading and the programme is designed to encourage a joy of reading and a love of books amongst both Saint Paul’s and Newall Green pupils.
Andy Burnham commended the school for encouraging reading.
“Inspiring the next generation to develop a passion for reading is really important, and it was great to see how Saint Paul’s, Newell Green Primary and partners BW3 are working together to instill a love of reading in students,” he said.
“In Greater Manchester, we want to ensure no child is left behind and everybody has the opportunity to develop reading skills. We continue to lead the way in tackling issues such as school readiness by working with local authorities, schools and organisations to make sure young people have the best start and prospects in life.”
Andy also met some of BW3’s team of reading mentors who have been visiting the school each week to develop confident, able readers.
Adam Jupp, chair of BW3, said: “BW3 is committed to delivering programmes that tackle the most important issues in the Wythenshawe area.
“There is clear evidence that improving literacy levels in young people goes a long way to boosting their career opportunities in the future and it has been inspirational to see the impact our team of mentors has had.”
Mrs Charlotte Cooper, Assistant Headteacher and English teacher at Saint Paul’s, commented: “We want people to make reading a regular part of their routine whether they’re reading solo or together with their classmates, parents, or friends. The more students read, and the more challenging their reading is, the more successful they will become in all subject areas and ultimately in life.”
Saint Paul’s headteacher Alex Hren spoke of the importance of the schemes and in ’empowering’ pupils.
“We welcomed the opportunity to share with Andy just a small part of the work we undertake with our partners,” he said.
“Our staff and pupils are encouraged to step forward and make things happen and work in partnership with those in the local community.”