By Mrs Day (Co-Curricular and Community Outreach Manager)

This term, we are continuing to strengthen our links with local Primary Schools through weekly outreach visits. On Friday afternoons 30 Lower Sixth students visit Kings Oak Primary School and have been supporting Years 1 and 2 students (ages 5-6) with their reading.

The Lower Sixth students work with three different classes every week, providing an opportunity for every student in each class to read one-to-one. Over the weeks, it has been fantastic to see how the children’s confidence has developed and how excited they are to see us every Friday.

Elyse Vickers (Lower Sixth) reflected: “This year I have thoroughly enjoyed working with our Years 1 and 2 students. There are three classes we spend around 15 minutes with rotationally, so we get a large variety of children with different reading levels to work with, stretching our abilities to work with younger people. Outreach this year has made me look forward to our Friday lunch times. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the children and seeing them progress in confidence and independence within their reading, but also interacting with the rest of my peers as well as myself. I really enjoy not just reading with them, but also engaging in conversation with them and getting to know them with the time that I get with them. Often these discussions lead onto other things and things that they relate to in the book. Outreach has helped me grow my communication skills and also has allowed me to make a positive contribution to the Bedford community.”

Molly Lincoln (Lower Sixth) added: “I love working with the children on their reading; it is so nice to be able to help them not only learn to read but also to enjoy reading. Not only this, but also encouraging the children to laugh at the stories, as well as understand the stories being told from the lovely children’s books that bring back a lot of memories for me from when I too was learning to read. When we meet the children, some start off reading so timidly, and it is so rewarding to be able to lend a hand for them to build their confidence. I find that by the end of each session, the children are reading much more confidently compared to when they started.

“Helping the children understand and process what they are reading can sometimes be a challenge. Sometimes, once finishing the book, the children will not know what the book was about. Growing this skill by discussing and going back over the plot of the book or covering any words they do not understand is something that overcomes this and helps the children. The skills and experiences I have gained from this experience, getting to know the children every week, have been amazing and very special.”