Summer Reading Challenge
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The Summer Reading Challenge is an educational competition held annually in public libraries in the UK, organised by The Reading Agency. It first began in 1999 with the intention of encouraging primary school children to read books during the summer holidays. Participants are awarded stickers and medals based on the competition's theme per tier. Materials are available in large print with supplementary information in Braille.
In an Impact Research study for the Summer Reading Challenge, the Reading Agency found that the Challenge contributed to stemming the 'summer holiday dip' in children's reading achievement.[1]
History[edit]
The challenge started in 1999 with Reading Safari.[2]
In 2006, the Summer Reading Challenge Impact Research Report was published by an agency called Product Perceptions.[3] It found that 60% of children participating found they read more as a result of the challenge.[4]
How it works[edit]
The child first asks for registration at the library desk with their library card in their hand. They then receive the Summer Reading Challenge Sheet where they track their progress and add stickers to complete the challenge. They read two books at a time from the library, record them on their sheet then show the sheet to the librarian where they get two stickers to put on their sheet (one often being a scratch-n'-sniff). After they have collected all the stickers and read their six books, they receive a medal and a certificate.[5]
Resources[edit]
In Wales, most items are available in bilingual Welsh-English versions.[6]
In Scotland, the Summer Reading Challenge is sponsored by Tesco Bank.
The Summer Reading Challenge is also run outside of the UK, in Ireland and internationally through the British Council’s teaching and learning services.
An interactive website for children is available year-round. Here they can create a profile, chat about books, and get help on what to read next via the digital Book Sorter. This Book Sorter functionality already offers over 300,000 peer to peer children’s book recommendations in child-friendly categories, added by children themselves, who have read these titles in a Summer Reading Challenge or other activity.
Themes[edit]
| Year | Theme | About | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Reading Safari[7] | ||
| 2000 | Reading Relay | ||
| 2001 | Reading Carnival | ||
| 2002 | Reading Planet | ||
| 2003 | Reading Maze | ||
| 2004 | Reading Rollercoaster | ||
| 2005 | Reading Voyage | ||
| 2006 | Reading Mission | ||
| 2007 | The Big Wild Read | Environment | |
| 2008 | Team Read | Sports | to celebrate Beijing Olympics 2008 |
| 2009 | Questseekers | Fantasy | |
| 2010 | Space Hop | Space and astronauts | |
| 2011 | Circus Stars | Circus | |
| 2012 | Story Lab | Science | |
| 2013 | Creepy House | Ghosts | illustrated by Chris Riddell |
| 2014 | Mythical Maze | Mythical characters | illustrated by Sarah McIntyre |
| 2015 | Record Breakers | World Records | in partnership with Guinness World Records |
| 2016 | The Big Friendly READ | Roald Dahl | for 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl |
| 2017 | Animal Agents | Detectives | illustrated by Tony Ross |
| 2018 | Mischief Makers | BEANO | for BEANO's 80th anniversary |
| 2019 | Space Chase | Space | to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing |
| 2020 | Silly Squad[8] | Comedy | |
| 2021 | Wild World Heroes | Eco-Friendly | |
| 2022 | Gadgeteers | Science | |
| 2023 | Ready, Set, Read | Sports | (Youth Sport Trust) |
Opportunities[edit]
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Libraries work closely with schools, and each year library staff promote the Challenge to schools in the summer term. Invitations are provided for children to take home to encourage families to take part.
For young people (aged 13 to 24) there is the opportunity to volunteer in libraries during the Summer Reading Challenge each year to support younger children taking part.
This volunteering provides a quality workplace experience for young people in libraries, inspires them to think about future careers and increases their employability as they gain useful life skills and confidence. 8,000 young people are expected to volunteer in the 2015 Summer Reading Challenge. Many go on to volunteer to support other library initiatives throughout the year.
Regional variations[edit]
Council library services have to opt in to the Summer Reading Challenge, purchasing materials from The Reading Agency.
However some authorities have traditionally run local alternatives, Croydon ran the Book Trail for many years, which was enjoyed by Stormzy in his childhood, who in 2016 remembered it as “You read a book, write a detailed review as proof you’ve read it and they give you a badge... That’s where my competitive nature came out. Give me the badges! I would sit in the library all day, not ’cos I loved reading, just because I needed those badges.”[9] Croydon have since also joined the Summer Reading Challenge.[10]
Similar initiatives run internationally, in the USA, services design these locally and are known as Summer Reading Programs.
References[edit]
- ^ "Impact Research - Full Report | Reading Agency".
- ^ "The Summer Reading Challenge theme is... Ready, Set, Read! with Youth Sport Trust | Reading Agency". readingagency.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "Summer Reading Challenge 2006 Impact Research Report" (PDF). 2006.
- ^ Goulding, Anne (2006). Public libraries in the 21st century: defining services and debating the future. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-7546-4286-2.
- ^ "Summer Reading Challenge". summerreadingchallenge.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
- ^ "Summer Reading Challenge launches in Wales | Reading Agency". readingagency.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ Stewart, Gabe; Conway, Lynda (21 July 1999). "Educate, stimulate, organise". The Guardian. p. 14. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Summer Reading Challenge". BBC Teach.
- ^ Wolfson, Sam (2016-05-21). "Stormzy: 'My man Jeremy Corbyn! I dig what he says'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
- ^ "Ready, Set, Read!: Summer Reading Challenge 2023 launches with sports theme". Newsroom. Retrieved 2023-09-10.