15 June 2017

It was a full house at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh when the First Minister hosted a celebration event for the First Minister’s Reading Challenge.

The Challenge sees young people read from a list of specially-suggested books before filling in a Reading Passport and completing a book report.

Around 600 Schoolchildren in primary 4 to 7 came from across Scotland to exhibit their innovative and creative work at the event and the First Minister awarded a total of 12 prizes to exceptional pieces of work.

The standard of entries was very high. Some schools introduced a “Reading Radio” where young people discussed books they had read, while other invited members of the local community, like the lollipop man, to come in and discuss their favourite books. St Blane’s Primary in Blantyre invited anti-sectarianism charity Nil by Mouth in to discuss a book they were reading on sectarianism.

What a fantastic first ever #FMReadChallenge! We hope primary schools across Scotland will join us for the challenge in 2017/18… ?? pic.twitter.com/ups4lvdhnQ

— Scottish Book Trust (@scottishbktrust) June 14, 2017

Over three quarters of local authority schools took part in the challenge, with 539 entries in total, including three Gaelic submissions. Every local authority in Scotland took part in some way.

Speaking after the event, the First Minister said:

The First Minister’s Reading Challenge has been a fantastic success since it was launched last year and it’s wonderful to be able to celebrate a love of reading with so many enthusiastic participants!

“Reading is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and the Reading Challenge is opening up a world of adventure and fun for young people as well as giving them vital literacy and language skills. By working with guest speakers and charities, the Challenge is bringing the community together in a very unique way.

“Developing a love of reading in childhood can have a huge impact on educational attainment and future wellbeing which is why projects like these are so important. I am looking forward to seeing how the Challenge develops in the future.”

.@NicolaSturgeon celebrated her Reading Challenge with 600 schoolchildren from P4 – P7 in Edinburgh today pic.twitter.com/7fluv6uQCm

— Scottish Government (@scotgov) June 14, 2017