Local business sponsors Harwich and Dovercourt High School’s new Reading for Life initiative

28 September 2017

Harwich Haven Authority has joined forces with the Harwich and Dovercourt High School (HDHS) to launch a new Reading for Life initiative aimed at year 7 pupils.

“As a school, we need to focus on literacy skills as fundamental, not only to exam success, but to life chances in general,” says Sarah Cross, Lead Practitioner in English at HDHS.

Reading for Life will open up a dialogue with the new Year 7 intake on reading and attitudes to reading. It will encourage students to be honest about difficulties and will aim to create an environment that enables them to do just that. It will provide students, whatever their starting point, with some strategies to deal with challenging text and to understand too that the importance of being able to read is not just about being at school. 

Whilst providing students with strategies that will support them across the curriculum and beyond, the link will also be made between reading for pleasure and being a successful reader.

Sarah, added: “Reading for Life will support students in selecting engaging reading material and also encourage them to take responsibility for this aspect of their reading development. On behalf of the school I would very much like to thank Harwich Haven Authority for their generous contribution to the school and the children of our community.”

“Over the past year we have supported many community initiatives in and around the local area, but the Harwich and Dovercourt High School’s Reading for Life initiative struck a particular chord with us,” says Neil Glendinning, chief executive, Harwich Haven Authority.

“By working in partnership with the school we were able to offer valuable work experience earlier this year to five Year 10 pupils in our marine support, engineering and IT departments.

“As a local employer we’re very keen to support local educators as they equip and enable young people to reach their full potential. It’s beneficial to us too, because they might be applying for a job with us here at Harwich Haven Authority in the future.

“Employers require high levels of education, particularly in literacy when recruiting into the workplace. So, we hope that the new Harwich and Dovercourt High School Year 7 students embrace the Reading for Life initiative and enjoy their learning journey.”