MASSIVE improvements in reading ability have been achieved by Gosport pupils in a pilot project.
And now more schools in the borough are set to benefit after yesterday's official launch of the Better Reading Partnership.
It is a scheme set up by Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Education business Partnership and works with the help of Gosport businesses.
The idea of the scheme, which was piloted in four schools, is to give children ten weeks of key one-to-one tuition.
Carol Gibbs, project manager at the business partnership, said: "The results of the pilot have been quite spectacular. Some children have been able to raise their reading ages by two years in a ten-week period."
Those chosen to work with an adult reading partner normally have a reading age below the class average.
The children follow a programme of three 15-minute reading sessions per week for ten weeks.
Fleetlands and Kendall are two Gosport businesses involved in the scheme and others are being sought who can encourage their staff to help the scheme in their spare time.
Students from St Vincent College, Gosport, have also agreed to take part in the project, which now involves 12 Gosport schools.
Busy headteacher Diane Smith, who has been on a training course to coach volunteers, said the scheme had made a huge difference to her pupils at St John's C of E Primary School in Grove Road, Gosport.
She said: "It's such a well-structured scheme."
If you want to volunteer please contact Carol Gibbs at Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Education Business Partnership on 02392 677444.
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