Ava Barrett | Reporter
As we take a look back at the wonderful year our school has had, we reflect fondly upon some of the big days we have shared. Nicola Sturgeon came to visit St. Andrew’s and St. Bride’s on the 21st of August 2017. Ms Sturgeon came to our school to launch the First Minister’s Reading Challenge with an aim to get more young people into reading at home for pleasure.
It is fantastic that our First Minister made such a positive impact for students around Scotland and is still making a huge impact now. She is very proud of her challenge and said;
“I am incredibly proud of the success the First Minister’s Reading Challenge has had in nurturing a love of reading for pleasure among Scotland’s young people, which is why this expansion to secondry schools is so exciting.”
Ms Sturgeon has impacted the school so greatly that more and more younger pupils are joining literacy clubs and enjoying reading different genres of books. The challenge has made pupils realise that reading is one of the most enjoyable things about life, and that it also has a strong, positive impact to their education.
As a result, Mrs Mullen, with the support of English teachers, has established a Literacy Leaders club in which members act as reading ambassadors. This initiative has been overwhelmingly successful across the school, with even maths teachers taking time to read!
We all thank Ms Sturgeon for launching The First Minister’s Reading Challenge in our school, which is among only six secondary schools that were chosen. Ms Sturgeon truly cares about the education of young people and we are lucky to live in a country where the needs of the young people are a strong target for the government.
