The endeavour, part of local charity Bright Beginnings’ Literacy Programme, is being introduced to celebrate 2026 as the National Year of Reading.
‘The Literacy Program was the first thing our charity ever did,’ said the charity.
‘It’s wonderful because it provides benefits for the children and also for the volunteers. They develop skills like the ability to communicate, and they practise community involvement.’
The programme involves volunteers – like those from the Sixth Form Centre – heading into primary education settings in Guernsey to read to the students, with the aim of supporting the pupils develop the literacy and communication skills.
‘I think it’ll be interesting, and I wanted to go back to see my old school and all my teachers,’ said student Florence Hemery, who will be heading back to Notre Dame du Rosaire, alongside another former pupil, Mila Borselli, who said she volunteered for the programme to help support its positive effect on the community.
‘I wanted to be involved for the impact that it has for the kids,’ she said.
The programme started in 2012, driven by research suggesting that children who struggle with literacy are far more likely to fall behind expected attainment levels for their age.
Left unresolved, this can lead to lifelong negative effects, such as damaged socio-economic outcomes. Bright Beginnings’ reading volunteers promote literacy skills at an age where it is maximally vital, as primary-aged children are developing at a fast rate.
The volunteers do more than just give the children a chance to develop their reading skills, though – they also give them a chance to learn to enjoy the activity, independent of its educational benefits.
‘I remember whenever people came in to read to us in primary school, I always loved it,’ said student Lottie Muir.
The Sixth Form Centre volunteers have all been given an educational training session on safeguarding and how best to approach their work, delivered by Bright Beginnings.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.