This week, parents were able to watch Prep school pupils stand and perform readings of a chosen poem for the first time in over a year. The annual poetry by heart competition is one of the most popular events across the school and encourages pupils of all ages to select a poem to memorise and read in front of an audience of classmates and parents. This year, the Prep school Poetry by Heart competition winners were Florence M for the Junior prep and Xanthi E in the Upper prep.
In addition to Poetry by Heart, our school-wide push to encourage more pupils to pick up books and read new and exciting stories, which may inspire them or spark their own imaginations, has reached a new level with the bi-weekly issue of the Berners Review digital newsletter. The newsletter, designed to promote a culture of learning as well as reading, is constructed by incoming Graduate Scholar, Lauren Blake, who studied modern languages at Durham University, before taking the post here at Framlingham.
She said: “The Berners Review covers many areas of learning. Last week, for example, the theme was poetry as it was National Poetry Day. There is a strong reading element to the newsletter which promotes the culture of learning across the school as well as the importance of reading for our pupils. We select a book of the week.
“I’m very into reading myself. For this job, I’ve begun reading a lot of young adult fiction so I know what to promote. The response from pupils, since we began sending emails around promoting the library and reading more generally, has been really positive. I’ve noticed more pupils coming in break and lunchtimes to read or work or for various other purposes really.
“I think stories are really important for these young learners as they can really elevate their work. I think people are often put off reading because they find it too much effort, but I always say that it’s just likely these people haven’t found the right book for them yet, so I try to help them to do this here.”
