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Summer of Reading Fun

With the summer holidays fast approaching, we wanted to share with you some fun yet educational ideas that all the family can enjoy.

Bingo Summer Reading Challenge

The challenge has been set as a fun activity to help keep the children entertained and engaged over the six weeks holidays.  You will be able to find a downloadable bingo card at the bottom of the page.

It is a fantastic way for you to support our college reading initiative that ‘Everyone is a reader’ and help us to continue promoting reading for pleasure across all year groups.

A study from the National Literacy Trust shows how increased literacy positively impacts children’s mental wellbeing and children that are more engaged with literacy are three times more likely to have higher levels of mental wellbeing than children who are less engaged.  Over the summer holidays your child is likely to forget key information and knowledge that they have worked so hard to learn over the past academic year.

Our aim is to ensure that all students return to college ready for a great start to a new academic year and this challenge is to help prevent the trend of children’s reading ages dipping over the summer period, commonly known as the ‘summer slump.’

The challenge is for them to complete as many boxes on the bingo card as possible.  If they would like to add an additional twist, they can complete a short book review for any texts that they complete.

 Students bring in their completed Bingo cards to the library in September to receive an Amazon gift voucher!

Summer book recommendations 

Book recommendations can greatly enhance a summer of reading. We would love to hear what the students recommend so in September we will be asking them for their book reviews and engaging reads to pass to their peers.

Here are some recommendations across different genres and age groups:

1. **Fantasy**:

   - *The Lord of the Rings* by J.R.R. Tolkien

   - *A Court of Thorns and Roses* by Sarah         J. Maas

 

2. **Science Fiction**:

   - *Dune* by Frank Herbert

   - *Ready Player One* by Ernest Cline

3. **Mystery/Thriller**:

   - *Gone Girl* by Gillian Flynn

   - *One of Us Is Lying* by Karen M. McManus

4. **Historical Fiction**:

   - *The Book Thief* by Markus Zusak

   - *All the Light We Cannot See* by Anthony Doerr

5. **Contemporary**:

   - *The Hate U Give* by Angie Thomas

   - *Eleanor & Park* by Rainbow Rowell

6. **Classics**:

   - *To Kill a Mockingbird* by Harper Lee

   - *1984* by George Orwell

 

Non-Fiction:

   - *Hidden Figures (Young Readers' Edition)* by Margot Lee Shetterly

   - *I Am Malala (Young Readers Edition)* by Malala Yousafzai

   - *Educated* by Tara Westover

   - *Becoming* by Michelle Obama

 

Fifteen-year-old Sander wishes he was like everyone else. But Sander has a rare medical condition that affects one in a hundred thousand people.

I really loved One in a Hundred Thousand. I liked that it told the story of normal life, but in a way that was incredibly gripping and unpredictable. Sander is such a bold, loveable character and, he brings the entire story to life. I also love the character development within the story, with Sander becoming more confident, and Niklas becoming more respectful and kind.

days out

VisitManchester has some wonderful things planned to keep everyone entertained. 

It is a fantastic way for you to support our college reading initiative that ‘Everyone is a reader’ and help us to continue promoting reading for pleasure across all year groups.

A study from the National Literacy Trust shows how increased literacy positively impacts children’s mental wellbeing and children that are more engaged with literacy are three times more likely to have higher levels of mental wellbeing than children who are less engaged.

Our aim is to ensure that all students return to college ready for a great start to a new academic year and to help prevent the trend of children’s reading ages dipping over the summer period.

“For a Richer, Fuller Life, READ!”

Family Escape Room – The Library of Enchantment.

A family-friendly escape room.  Have you ever wanted to step inside a story? The Library of Enchantment is a fun-filled thrilling family-friendly escape room, full of seafaring adventures, time travelling tricks and a pesky old bookworm who's always up to meddlesome mischief! Join Z arts for an enchanting experience that requires your puzzling skills, logic, persistence and, most of all, teamwork. Can you help capture Billi the bookworm and put the chaos right before the Library Inspector arrives within the hour? Ideal for birthdays, special occasions, or just for fun!

 
 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Tea at House of Books and Friends

Your friends and family can experience a classic afternoon tea in a grade II listed building in the heart of Manchester city centre.  It's the perfect opportunity to experience a cultural afternoon in the same building where former Prime Ministers, Winston Churchill and William Gladstone once sat.  By indulging in afternoon tea, you're directly supporting your community: House of Books & Friends was created to combat loneliness and isolation in the local area.

 

Stort Stars Workshop

Welcome to Story Stars where words come to life! Through lots of creative writing exercises, we'll explore our imaginations, creating stories and poetry in many different styles and themes. All ideas are welcome in this creative space for budding writers.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Rylands Library

If you are in Manchester, why not call into the stunningly beautiful John Rylands Library.

While the Harry Potter atmosphere is undeniable, it never actually appeared in the films, although it did inspire some of the visuals of Hogwarts, and walking around it is easy to see why.

The library, which is situated on Deansgate, is listed as one of the finest in the world and is guaranteed to take your breath away.