SouthGate has launched a quest to find and reward a young reading hero from Bath who has gone above and beyond to inspire or help others through books.
Parents, guardians, teachers, families and friends in Bath are being asked to nominate a child under the age of 11 who they think has used reading to positively benefit others.
SouthGate has launched the initiative as part of the Young Readers Programme, a partnership between its co-owner, British Land, and the National Literacy Trust. The programme is designed to encourage children aged 11 and under to read for enjoyment in their spare time.
The winner will be chosen by a judging panel made up of representatives from British Land, SouthGate and the National Literacy Trust.
A literary-themed prize will be awarded to the winner which will include £100 of National Book Tokens for their school, £50 of National Book Tokens for themselves, plus a copy of ‘My Brother is a Superhero’ by David Solomons – winner of Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016.
Nominations can now be made via SouthGate’s website where adults can submit an entry describing why their nominee deserves to win.
The Young Readers Programme, now in its fourth year at SouthGate saw schoolchildren from St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, St Martin’s Garden Primary Academy and St Keyna Primary School take part in a series of literacy-focused events.
This culminated in a trip to SouthGate where pupils were treated to an animated storytelling session and fun, educational activities with staff from Build a Bear, Giraffe and My Small World. The schools were also given £100 vouchers to purchase new books for their libraries.
Guy Henderson, Centre Manager at SouthGate, said: “Supporting the local community is something we’re passionate about. The Young Readers Programme is a wonderful initiative that has a real, positive impact on encouraging local schoolchildren to read for enjoyment outside of the classroom.
“We thoroughly enjoyed hosting the storytelling event this year and we’re excited about launching the Reading Heroes competition – I’m sure we’ll see some very worthy nominations!”
Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, said: “We know that reading for pleasure is one of the most effective ways to help children reach their full potential.
“Our research shows that children who enjoy reading every day outside school are five times more likely to read above the expected level for their age than those who don’t.
“With the support of British Land and its shopping centres and retailers across the UK, our Young Readers Programme has helped more than 19,000 children choose books to enjoy and keep. For many, these were the first books they had ever owned.
“Literacy underpins the long-term wellbeing and prosperity of every community, so encouraging children to read for enjoyment is an important step towards boosting literacy levels in Bath.
We’re thrilled to be bringing the programme to SouthGate once again as well as supporting the search for Bath’s inspirational young Reading Hero.
Parents, guardians or anyone inspired to nominate a local child as a ‘Reading Hero’ can do so by visiting https://www.southgatebath.com/readinghero.