The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London received official confirmation this month that we were placed in the Silver Category of the Nationwide Six Book Challenge run by the Reading Agency as more than 100 of our students successfully completed the challenge.
107 students completed the challenge from October 2014 – June 2015 and each read a total of six books from a reading list designed to encourage young people and adults to read a variety of good quality literature. This is the second year that the College has run the challenge students from all curriculum areas tool part, particularly Literacy, ESOL and Supported Learning.
As part of the challenge, each reader was given a diary to write a short book review of the books they read.
CONEL Principal, Andy Forbes presented certificates and prizes to the students who completed the challenge at a special awards ceremony in July.
He said: “These sorts of projects are really important. There are learners from all different walks of life and they all seem to have thoroughly enjoyed it. For many of the students that have taken part English is their second language which adds another dimension to this challenge. It’s remarkable that not only have they taken in the challenge with such enthusiasm but that so many of them have chosen to take part this year, the highest numbers ever.”
Science Level 1 student, Aya Ibrahim said: “I didn’t think I could complete the challenge, six books in such a short space of time seemed like a lot but I loved it. I don’t usually read very much but doing it with my friends made it competitive and enjoyable. I’ve read books that I otherwise wouldn’t have considered even picking up - and it’s definitely encouraged me to read more.”
As an extra incentive, learners who completed the challenge were entered into a prize draw and five lucky winners scooped a £15 book token.