Certificates and prizes were awarded at two special ceremonies recently to Newbury College students who have completed the National Six Book Challenge, which is run in partnership with West Berkshire Libraries. Certificates and prizes were presented at two award ceremonies by Dr Anne Murdoch, Principal of Newbury College and Mike Brook, West Berkshire Council's Library Services Manager.
In its fifth year the 'Challenge' is aimed at supporting and encouraging less confident readers. As the name suggests, readers are asked to read six books of their choice and record their progress in a diary.
Mike Brook, West Berkshire Council's Library Services Manager said, "The aim is to get more people reading and build their confidence and literacy skills. Mr Brook told the students; "Reading is not only important for learning and finding information. In a stressful world it's also one of the most effective ways to relax."
This year, 34 Connect and ACL College learners successfully completed the National 6 Book challenge. Newbury College also ran a scheme for English for Non Native Speakers learners separately, in which 61 learners took part with prizes and certificates awarded at the same ceremonies.
LRC Manager at Newbury College Fiona Lees said, "The Newbury College reading challenge, which runs alongside the national 6 Book Challenge has been very popular with our learners. Learners have commented on how much their reading has improved over the period of the challenge. It has been great to see the learners' progress with their reading".
Steph Searle, one of the winners for the best diary entry, wrote "I like this challenge because I found out that I can read lots more things. It was excellent!" Other learners who took part expressed how they thought the book challenge was very interesting, challenging and helped them to get into reading more.