The power of stories

We spend a lot of time talking to students about reading, and I dedicate quite a bit of time on this blog to the subject too. We know that reading is one of the most impactful things that a person can do to improve their level of education, and that’s why we promote it so much. It’s a shame that the age that reading can make the most difference – childhood – is also a time when other distractions can be more attractive. But, we know that young people who read well achieve well in exams, and so we’ll carry on promoting reading as much as we can.

Last week we were thrilled to welcome renowned children’s author Onjali Q. Raúf in to school to speak to all of Year 7 and forty students in Year 8. Onjali’s recent book ‘The letter with the Golden Stamp’ is a fantastic story and one that students love, and so it was great to be able to hear from Onjali herself about what inspired her to write it, and her love of reading. It was also fantastic to see students queuing up to get their copies of the book signed!

Also on the theme of reading, I’d like to give a mention this week to the work of the History Department and their unique way of teaching the Holocaust. For a couple of years now the topic has been taught entirely through the reading of five ‘My Voice’ stories. The My Voice project has gathered together the testimony of Holocaust survivors who later made their new lives in the North West of England, and published the works for future generations to read. Our year nine students have absolutely loved reading these life stories, engaging directly with the survivors and even meeting some of them face to face in Bradshaw Hall. Last week Sarah Fern, Head of History, was invited to speak at a wonderful event at the John Rylands library in Manchester. She did a superb job, and you can watch her in action here. If we needed to be reminded of the power of stories then this is it.

Have a great weekend all and keep reading!

Joe Barker

ps My blog from now on will include some safeguarding updates that parents may find useful, we hope there’s something of interest to you.

Share!