On 21st October children from Eton park junior school, Rykneld primary school and holy trinity CE primary school in Burton on Trent came to the Pirelli Stadium to take part in a fun-filled literacy event with author & poet Joshua Seigal.
The exciting activities and workshops used children’s love of football, amongst other topics to motivate them to read & write some poetry of their own.
At the event the pupils took part in the poetry workshop, a Show Racism the Red Card workshop and a Pirelli Stadium ground tour! 90 pupils in total from the three schools attended and they were joined by some of the first team players for a photograph.
The club author day was run by the Premier League and the National Literacy Trust to celebrate the efforts of children who have taken part in the Premier League Primary Stars programme, which uses the power of football to inspire primary school children to read and write.Burton Albion is one of over 100 Premier League and English Football League clubs taking part in Premier League Primary Stars. The programme includes Premier League Reading Stars, a reading intervention developed by the National Literacy Trust and the Premier League which has been proven to increase children’s reading levels by up to one year in just 10 weeks.
Joshua Seigal, the author that joined us on the day said “the day was fantastically organised and it was a real pleasure to be part of such an inspirational event. A huge thank you for having me.”
Katie Johnson, BACT School Sport Manager said: “It was great for the children to actually be at the Pirelli Stadium and have not only the author, Joshua Seigal, to inspire them but also the football stadium and meet some of the players. The poems the children created were amazing, and they all received a signed copy of one of Joshua’s books to enable them to enjoy even more poetry.”
Jim Sells, Programme Manager at the National Literacy Trust, said: “We know from our research and decades of experience that reading for enjoyment improves children’s chances of success in school and in life. Tapping into their interests helps to build this love of reading, which is why we use the motivational power of football to get children, especially struggling readers, into reading. By bringing together local authors and football clubs, we are taking an important step towards inspiring a love of reading in children that will benefit them for a lifetime.”
For more information about Premier League Primary Stars and to sign-up, visit: www.plprimarystars.com
