Ten lucky first year students from Braidhurst High School were recently invited along by North Lanarkshire Council to the launch of the Read to Succeed programme aiming to make reading for pleasure a priority.   The launch took place at Coatbridge High School and was attended by award-winning author Theresa Breslin.   All pupils attending received a free, signed book by the author as part of the Attainment Challenge and poignant extracts from Ms Breslin’s book Remembrance were read during the event.   Ms Breslin said “I was thrilled to be asked to launch North Lanarkshire Council’s Read to Succeed Project.   There was a wonderfully uplifting atmosphere in the school hall and it was a joy to meet students and staff so keen to get involved and take forward this exciting project.   Providing a wide variety of books and giving every single S1 pupil the opportunity to engage with an author, makes this project truly special.   Such reach and depth will create and sustain readers, improving aspirations and attainment”.   As part of Read to Succeed, Braidhurst will receive an author visit from Philip Caveney (aka Danny Weston).

Former pupil Louise Coletta recently visited the Modern Languages Department in Braidhurst High School.   Louise studied French and German to Advanced Higher Level in the school and for the last two years, she has continued her studies at Glasgow University, adding Italian and Spanish to her repertoire of linguistic competencies.   She is extremely excited to be leaving next week to spend a year in Strasbourg, where she will teach English in a school there.   As Strasbourg is on the German border, Louise is looking forward to using her German language skills through exploring the country in her free time, as well as spending time getting to know Strasbourg itself.  Her teachers are delighted for Louise and very proud of her achievements so far.   Louise assured them that she will keep in touch and it is hoped that classes in Braidhurst can set up a correspondence with the pupils in Louise’s school.