SportThis school, like many others in the country have a proud reputation for competing and playing many different sports throughout the year and already this academic year we have had a string of close shaves and victories. Our sixth form basketball team got to the district finals and with a half time lead were unlucky to lose 32-26 to leventhorpe. Our rugby sevens team beat Berkhamstead in the final 12-5 to become county champions and then took part in a tournament at Rosslyn Park, winning their first 3 rounds but losing to Tonbridge in the 4th round. Our school also put together a karting team and two teams from TBSHS have qualified for the regional finals of the British schools karting championship at Buckmore Park. In our local area many sports have been given a boost by the Olympic legacy with a huge boost
in the numbers of people participating in Archery, canoeing, cycling and martial arts such as karate, judo and jiu jitsu. Our rugby first 15 are second in their division just 3 points behind the division leaders and our football team are 18th in the north division.
Out of Bishops Stortford and into the headlines, tomorrow marks the world cup qualifying with England taking on San Marino at 8 O’clock, the first match of England’s round which includes teams from Poland, Montenegro, Moldova and Ukraine. In tennis, Laura Robson beat Camila Giorgi in the Miami Masters first round to ensure her place in the next round. In international rugby wales beat England 30-3 to crush England’s hopes of a grand slam and hold the title for the second year running… that’s all in the world of sport at the moment so now back to
Robin in the main studio – thank you for watching.
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Houses of ParliamentOn 12th March 2013, two students were given the fantastic opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament. After collaborations with Mr Robert Halfon, MP of Harlow, these lucky pupils from TBSHS were not only given the chance for a personal tour – but also to sit in on a debate in the House of Commons! This first-hand experience was imperative as, being two politics students, they really were given an insight into the workings of Parliament. The debate itself was George Osbourne, and his ministers, against Ed Balls and his ministers, which really proved to be a heated argument. One highlight must have been John Bercow, the speaker, telling the minister to ‘settle down children’, for the debate was exactly like a classroom feud!
The tour itself was magical. The Houses of Commons was surprisingly tiny but impressive with its many statues of influential prime ministers. Amusingly, Benjamin Disraeli stands alone – Victoria’s love for her favourite prime minister suggested that no-one could live up to him! In essence, any future politician can aspire to be next to Disraeli in the House of Commons. Margaret Thatcher also stood proudly as one of the most influential prime ministers and, being the first woman prime minister, could be seen as truly an inspiration. The day certainly spurred those students hopes – perhaps it could be you the next prime minister!
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George Osborne makes dramatic changes to economy plan, which will be “for people who work hard and aspire to get on”
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has urged George Osborne to make swift economic ‘U-turn’, after saying that government policies had ‘sucked’ confidence from the economy.
George Osborne defends his economic changes, insisting that his strategy is working and that Britain needs to ‘go on confronting these problems’ and cutting debt, which has risen to new heights.
"If you're a chancellor, if you made a mistake, you do your U-turn quickly.” He defended, “The longer you wait, the worse it gets, and the harder it becomes politically, even if economically it's the right thing."
Among the changes to the Budget, George Osborne has made plans to boost the housing market, as well as a 5% reduction in income tax, changes to most benefits, scraping fuel duty rise, and major changes to
borrowing which is set to hit £114bn this year.
He is also planning to effectively guarantee £130bn worth of new mortgages as a "big new step" that was needed because the mortgage market was "not functioning properly". He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. "The mortgage market is an extremely complex thing, the intention of the scheme is absolutely clear - it is for people who want to get their first home or have a home and want to move to a bigger home because perhaps they have got a bigger family.
What does this mean for you?
Changes include:
Employers will be able to offer their staff up to £10,000 per person in tax-free annual season ticket loans. This is promising for the workers, as this is double the current tax-free allowance.
Child benefits, and childcare benefits, are undergoing reformations after this year’s Budget. Child benefit will be reduced incrementally as one person in a household has an income of more than £50,000, and will be cut completely if the income is above £60,000.
Fuel duty increases set for September have been scrapped. If the rise had gone ahead, it would have led to almost £1bn extra in extra fuel duty and VAT.
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Footballing icon becomes global ambassador to improve image of the Chinese game
It has to be said – Europe is currently bossing global football. The English, Spanish, Germans, French and Italians are by far the most popular and widely-watched leagues in the world. However, this may be
about to change.
The Chinese Super League (CSL) could soon be on the increase – with fan-favourite global footballing star David Beckham, 37, becoming China’s first global football ambassador. Beckham will combine the role while playing for French side Paris St. Germain. However, it looks like he has a tough job ahead of him, as the Chinese Super League has recently been hit with a match-fixing scandal and the exit of its most famous player Didier Drogba. Beckham's role will involve helping to promote the Chinese game to the world, attending league matches in China, raising the profile of the game within the country itself to children and to restore its image after recent match-fixing scandals.
In a statement, he said, "I am honoured to have been asked to play such an important role at this special time in Chinese football history. This is a wonderful sport that inspires people across the world and brings families together, so I'm relishing the opportunity of introducing more fans to the game."
The departures of Drogba, 34 (who moved from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua to Galatasary in a controversial loan move) and Nicholas Anelka (who swapped Shanghai for Italy’s Juventus) had been a blow to the Chinese game ahead of the 2013 season, which started on the 8th March. There have also been problems with corruption, resulting in the country's former top referee, Lu Jun, being jailed in February 2011 and 58 officials being banned for match-fixing by Fifa and the Chinese Football Association. In February, China's football association banned 33 players and officials for life after a three-year probe into match-fixing. Two ex-heads of the football league were also jailed in June 2012. However, Beckham is insistent that the match-fixing scandals in the Chinese game will not tarnish his reputation.
In a press conference, Beckham told reporters he was determined to change the way Chinese football is viewed. "I am helping in the education for young kids and young aspiring footballers," he said. "It's as simple as that. I am not here to clear up anything. I am here to educate the children and give them a chance of becoming professional footballers."
He added, "This is a significant year in Chinese football history as we usher in 20 years of developing this sport professionally and mark the 10-year milestone of the Chinese Super League - which today reaches 300 million television viewers and 4.49 million spectators annually."
But does he have his work cut out? According to the BBC’s John Sudworth, he certainly does. In China, estimates suggest fewer than 100,000 youths play any form of organised football. This is less than 8% of the total population. China has plenty of football fans – however most prefer to watch foreign games instead of the tarnished domestic league. The Chinese national team has also failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, making Chinese football seem even less attractive.
Beckham is currently on a four-day tour of China. He will spend two days in Beijing visiting the Workers Stadium, home to Beijing Guo'an Football Club. He will meet players and fans and tour the stadium. He will then travel south to the coastal city of Qingdao, home to Qingdao Jonoon Football Club. His visit there will follow the same format as the Beijing leg: visiting schools and promoting the game at the grassroots level. From Qingdao he will fly to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the home of Wuhan Zall Football Club.
"The guy is a huge, huge brand. To say that the trip isn't some sort of publicity stunt would be a very, very silly thing to say," Pete Davis, China Correspondent for Goal Asia, told Sky News. Saint Becks is showing what a superhero he is. Recently, he announced he’d donate all of his salary from his PSG days to a French children’s charity. Now he’s become a Chinese football ambassador. So, what’s next? His contract with Paris Saint-Germain is only five months long — that nicely coincides with the middle of the Chinese season when Chinese teams are allowed to sign people, so it may be that we see him for a short six-month spell playing in the league itself, as was the case with Drogba and Anelka. Is it possible he could end up playing in China in the future?
For the time being though, he’ll have to balance the tasks of being a footballer for a top Champions League club, a Chinese football ambassador and a father of four. It’s a tough ask, but the former England captain, one of the most globally recognised names in football, has won a league championship at all three of the clubs he has played for on a permanent basis - Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy.
How will he fair in China? We wish you good luck, Saint David.
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Education Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed major changes to the current A-level system in England but the plans have had a half hearted reception from head teachers and university leaders across the country. From 2015 pupils will take exams at the end of two-year courses, instead of the current process of modules, which break up the course and allow for students to resit more often, a problem that Michael Gove said, “Was too much assessment, too little learning”. A statement that Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Leaders responded to by saying “This is a classic case of fixing something that isn't broken."
This new scheme means that exams will be taken at the end of two-year, non-modular courses; so the AS-level will become a detached exam taken in either one or two years. This therefore means that there will be no real examinations in the first year of your A-Levels, perhaps leaving the opportunity for some students to have a lazy first year with no real motivation or pressure to achieve, and then leaving them in a bad position to revise their entire course for the final exam.
A-levels were introduced in the early 1950s to allow pupils to get exams in individual subjects and in 1953-54, only about 3% of the year group achieved 3 A-level passes. By 1980-81 this had risen to 10% and by 1995-96 it was 23%. In 2000, a revised modular A-level structure was introduced, with assessments of each unit, rather than all the exams held at the end. This also introduced AS-levels, which pupils can take in their first year of sixth form or college in Year 12, and which is used as a stepping stone to full A-levels the following year. The changes were introduced to create a broader curriculum with more flexibility for pupils. However this change would limit the flexibility students would have in their subject, which could result in a massive dropout in grades and only the brightest being able to cope. It would be a sort of survival of the fittest, except with the weakest still surviving, just without the grades needed to help themselves. We still don’t know to what extent universities will engage with policing the new exams - they have been very wary of direct involvement. Another problem with this scheme is that if Wales and Northern Ireland decline to follow, it will also create a further fragmentation in the UK's exam system.
Mr Gove said A-levels in their current form did not help students to develop a "deep understanding" of their subjects, a statement with which some academics agree. Kevin Stannard from the Girls' Day School Trust said "The educational advantages of linearity and of learning within a coherent continuous two year course are clear, and will be seized on by schools like ours that seek to put teaching above testing." It is still not clear though what these new changes could mean for the students of the future, but whatever those changes are, students will have to adapt to the age of harder examination as quickly as possible.
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An essential guide to help you get through your GCSEs
Without trying to scare you, your GCSEs will be the most important exams of your life so far, and will determine your future education and career options. As you can imagine, it’s essential that you do as well as you can, so this guide is to help you do just this…
1) Revise, Revise, REVISE
You may feel like this activity is boring and a waste of time, but it is ESSENTIAL. Revising is the most useful activity that you can do, and there is more than one way to do it.
People revise in different ways. Some find it easiest to re-copy class notes, or going through revision guides, making it interesting and not the same often helps. For example, creating mind maps is a simple, but effective, way of revising and going over material. Start with a vague, central topic, and expand as much as you can. Try and use pictures, and use a variety of colours, as this will make them easier to remember in an exam.
Some also find it useful to produce flash cards, which allow students to remember facts or equations, and these can be taken anywhere. You can revise at home, on the bus, during lunch, or anywhere that suits you.
Recording yourself reading out revision notes or facts can also be a valuable way of revising. This can then be played back while you read, sleep, or relax, so that your notes can stick in.
2) Organise!
Make a revision timetable – and stick to it! It will really help to ensure that you are spending your time wisely and, when you lay in bed at night you’ll be able to relax knowing that you have planned everything. Know yourself, if you know that you will not work best late at night – plan to revise immediately from school when you get it.
3) Relax…
As strange as it may sound, relaxing is also essential to good grades – don’t panic! If you make sure you revise for a decent amount of time in the run up to your exam, when it comes to the days before you won’t have as much stress to cope with; you’ll already know your stuff!
Back to Headlines SCHOOL MOVEAt TBSHS, the plans for a new school building have been the cause of much dispute – in this special report – Paul Noble, Acting Head teacher, gives us his reasons for, and the benefits of this move. Initially, Paul was asked about the opportunity of a new school and what it means for all at TBSHS, when answering he reflected upon how fantastic school life here at London Road has been whilst also making reference to the dated infrastructure that dominates the school grounds. With the main corridor built to hold the movement of 500 students, it is not surprising that the massive increase to 1500 means that a new building is essential - should the school wish to continue on with its outstanding reputation.
Additionally, it seems that a new school site would provide an opportunity to create a building designed purely around students and their learning; with modern technology and teaching techniques at the heart of it. Leading on from this, Paul made a comment on the already exemplary attitudes of the students and when asked whether he felt it would make a difference to the behaviour and learning of students.
He suggested that perhaps it was not about changing the students’ behaviour. By enhancing the learning environment it could make experiences within the school’s ‘black and gold community’ even greater, and this is what the students at TBSHS deserve.
Later on, when asked to comment on the strengths of the single-sex nature of school from 11-16, Paul spoke of focusing the learning experience and tailoring it as to meet the needs of the boys from years 7-11. He also joked that it allowed for the best and most varied selections of people for sports teams; he also mentioned the sixth form that it very much a part of the schools make-up, stating that the female portion of the sixth form are one of the school’s many strong points.
Paul was then asked by interviewer Drew what major changes he had noticed during his career at The Bishops Stortford High School; he mentioned the Newton Building, and the Sixth form building – both of which are significantly different to the rest of the school. He also commented on the staff increase but also mentioned that fundamentally – the schools ‘fabric’ was the same. The ethos is the same as it was twenty years ago, and it will remain the same for many years to come – regardless of a new school building…
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This week, the town of Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire united in fund-raising spirit to raise money for Comic Relief. People baked cakes, had a Zumba masterclass and did the Harlem Shake and much more to raise thousands of pounds for the good cause.
In the centre of the town, in main shopping area Jackson Square, staff of Sainsbury’s sold Red Nose day merchandise, with donations from every product sold going to Comic Relief. Meanwhile, enthusiastic shoppers assembled in the supermarket’s entrance for a Zumba master class. Dancing continued in Jackson Square, though away from the supermarket, in a Stortford version of Let's Dance for Comic Relief, with prizes for the best contestant, face painting and temporary tattoos as well as games with prizes and sweets being sold on Red Nose Day.
Red Nose Day dress up was popular this week in the town, too. The wacky characters in Alice in Wonderland were the inspiration for a dressing up day at Stortford car dealership Hills Toyota. Colleagues raised £274 for the town’s Mecap centre Grove Cottage. Sainsbury’s workers Mark Eldred, Ian Ullersperger, Luke Grogan and Barrie Reid were on a mission as Batman, Robin, The Dark Knight and Flash to part shoppers and workers from their money for Comic Relief.
Primary schools across the town joined in the red nose fun, with Northgate Primary school raising over £600. A mad hair day saw a range of outrageous styles on display at Furneux Pelham Primary. Pupils also enjoyed a Red Nose treasure hunt. A total of £158.17 was collected. Stortford’s Windhill Primary School’s Parent Network organised a cake sale and a talent show for the children to raise more than £440.
Year 6 proved children can be quiet, observed a sponsored silence, while the nursery children also baked cakes.
The popular Café Rouge put on a variety of Red Nose Day special dishes, with 25p-50p donations going to Comic Relief for each product sold. Red Nose Day specials included Kir Royal Rouge, Toulouse Sausage Baguette, Poulet Epice and the cleverly-named Red Nose Sundae.
Local IT support company ITVET staged a host of family-friendly activities on Saturday 16th Marchfrom 9am to 4pm in support of Comic Relief. ITVET's 'Glow It Repair Centre' staff provided assistance for faulty laptops, PCs, tablets and phones, with basic repairs being free of charge.
Bakers at Karen’s Cakes in Stortford cast their expert eye over a selection of scrumptious cupcakes created by staff at FedEx at Stansted Airport. The winners were Becky Marchant and Emma Sturgess with their bird’s nest and maple syrup and pecan creations. The competition raised £73.
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CHINESE IP ADDRESS BEHIND SOUTH KOREAN HACKING ATTACKS
By Ryan
South Korea says Chinese address was behind Wednesday's cyber offence.
A cyber attack that caused computer networks at major banks and top South Korean TV broadcasters to crash simultaneously has been tracked back to an internet address in China, according to South Korean officials. The computer hack paralysed bank machines across the country and raised fears that this heavily Internet-dependent society was vulnerable.
The telecoms regulator said the hackers used a Chinese IP address to plant a virus that hit networks at six organisations on Wednesday afternoon. The hack caused a system shutdown on two South Korean banks and three TV stations.
Staff at the three broadcasters reported that their systems shut down unexpectedly. The green skulls that popped up on their screens indicated an installation of malicious code in the networks, according to the Korean Internet Security Agency.
For one of the most networked populous countries in the world, South Korea has had more than its fair share of cyber attacks. North Korea has been behind many of the previous offences, including two major plots to disrupt government agencies and financial firms in 2009 and 2011. Nonghyup bank was one of the victims of the 2011 attack, which left its customers unable to transfer or even access their cash for a three whole days.
This time around though, officials from the presidential office say that China is the culprit, although it is not yet known whether North Korea was also involved. Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said "We do not rule out the possibility of North Korea being involved, but it's premature to say so.”
The BBC’s technological expert Mark Gregory said the latest targets in South Korea, particularly the broadcasters, “probably weren't well defended.” Gregory added that “It is likely the hackers deliberately picked easy targets that gained them a lot of publicity but caused little long-term damage.”
This is ironic, considering how South Korea is supposedly one of the most technologically-advanced countries in the world. In September 2011, a global study of information and communication technology ranked South Korea as the world’s most advanced ICT economy, putting it above 151 other countries.
All operations in the two banks and three broadcasting agencies appear to have been partly restored, although it is expected to take at least four to five days for the infected computers to recover fully.
Liverpool's Luis Suarez has issued the words which are his club and manager's worst nightmare – that if another team with better prospects of competing in the Champions League approached him this summer, "they are very welcome".
Speaking to a Uruguayan newspaper, the 26-year-old striker said, “If another team comes around, willing to have me and with more prospects of competing in international club games, they are welcome.” He added, “We would talk to the club, we would see if I want to go, or if I don’t want to go.”
The striker, who has carried the Merseyside team for much of the season, will have put Europe's top clubs on alert with his comments. The news will not be welcome to the ears of Liverpool fans, however. Suarez has been by far the most valuable player at the Premier League club this season, scoring 22 goals and being the Premier League’s current top scorer.
Suarez is in contention for the Player of the Year award too, and if he were to leave Liverpool it would be a huge blow. Speaking on talksport radio this morning, presenter Alan Brazil said, “If he (Suarez) were to leave, it would halt the manager’s (Brendan Rodgers) plans right in his tracks.” However, Suarez did have words of comfort for the Kop manager. “I have a contract with Liverpool and I’m in a world-class team, an elite team like Liverpool and I’m very happy”. “But you never know in football”, he added.
In response, Liverpool’s chief executive Ian Ayre has released a statement announcing that he is adamant Luis Suarez will still be at Anfield next season. Ayre was robust in denying reports that Suarez wants to leave in search of Champions League football. "There will always be instances, particularly leading up to the summer, where people are quoted or asked these questions," he told BBC Radio 5 live, and when pressed further on whether he was 100% certain of retaining the player, replied that he was, "absolutely".
He also said, "We love Luis being at Liverpool, he loves being at Liverpool and we fully expect him to be at Liverpool next season. He has a four-year contract. We hope he will see it through. We have no desire to sell Luis. He is a fantastic player and a great contributor to our team. We have been honest with him and he has been honest with us and there will always be instances, particularly leading up to the summer, where people are quoted or asked these questions, but we are very pleased to have Luis and long may that continue”
Last season, Arsenal’s main man Robin van Persie swapped North London for Manchester United. Could a similar thing happen with Luis Suarez? Liverpool will have to wait and see about the future of their hottest property. But if any of the big clubs come a-calling in the summer, Luis Suarez may be saying his goodbyes to Brendan Rodgers and his Liverpool teammates.
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The finale of the 34th music festival was held on the 6th of March 2013. This magnificent display of talent exhibited just how much TBSHS has to offer musically. All of the advanced category winners throughout the school were in close competition with each other to win this year’s distinguished ‘Musician of the Year’ title. The competition was very intense, and agreed by parents and staff and students, to be of the highest quality ever heard in the history of the school.
The adjudicator of the music festival was the incomparable Nicholas McCarthy, a truly majestic pianist and person. Born without his right hand, at the age of 14 he began to learn the art of playing the piano with just his left hand, making him one of the very few left-handed pianists. Mr McCarthy was offered a place performing at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games and he has appeared on the BBC’s ‘The One Show’ – both of which demonstrated how fantastic he is at piano, as well as highlighting him as one of the UK’s foremost musical inspirations. As well as this, Nicholas has won many awards due to his individual talent and contribution to music; his most recognisable award was the prestigious international AMI Award for his creative excellence in music. This is why it was a great honour to have him at the school judging the music festival and making a large impact of the ethos of musicians at TBSHS.
Over the period of two weeks all musicians from different categories competed against each other for the places, commended, highly commended and winner. If one of these places is awarded to a student, this entitles them to play in the final of their standing, competing against students the age of 12 – 18 year olds; many students played or sang to the best of their ability and the result was a final show that blew audience members away.
The overall results of the competition are as follows:
Christopher, (Yr 7) – Commended
Oliver, (Yr 12) – Commended
Robin, (Yr 11) – Highly Commended
Craig, Drums, (Yr 13) – Winner – Musician of the Year 2013
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Today Twitter is celebrating its seventh birthday, with over 200 million users worldwide, who now send 400 million tweets per day. The site has been ranked as the fastest expanding web property overall online.
There are now more methods for people to keep in touch through services on the net than was ever offered in the past. One of the most popular sites on the web, Twitter, is a great example of this. Twitter fantastically provides quick and easy communication with friends and family members, but as with most sites – it has a dark side.
Now people use Twitter to campaign, share and discuss news, fundraise, propose marriage, challenge authority – and promote their products.
Formerly known as "stat.us" and then "twittr", Twitter came from the magnificent mind of American web developer Jack Dorsey, 36, who launched the site back in 2006. Since, it’s grown and grown – to the extent that now some believe it’s overtaking other social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. Numerous celebrities use the site now, to send messages to their fans and broadcast messages about upcoming events. Famous uses include American President Barack Obama (@barackobama), successful music man Simon Cowell (@sy_cowell) and YouTube personality Olajide Olatunji (@KSIOlajideBT).
However, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. BBC Radio 4's Today programme presenter John Humphrys once used the show's Twitter feed to advise users to "stop counting letters. Get a life instead".The fact is that there are hundreds and hundreds of people using Twitter for the wrong reasons. People create fake profiles, posing as different personalities and post fake photos to present themselves as more beautiful/handsome/fit person that they are not. ‘Trolling’ is a common occurrence on the site, where people harass others to provoke a reaction. Additionally, although Twitter was set up with the intention of users having groups and sending information updates in small numbers, now it’s all about getting as many followers as possible. This competitive and thirst for fame is what has made twitter a quote site. There are thousands of quote pages on twitter with stolen materials. Originality and authenticity have become rare.
Perhaps worst of all, there are hateful messages people send to others, which is called roasting. It’s simply a form of bullying in which some of the slanderers call it “comedy”. Most recently, 21 year old Wigan Athletic midfielder has been subject to abuse on the site after his bad tackle on Newcastle’s Massadio Haidara saw the defender taken to hospital. A 17-year old has been arrested on suspicion of producing malicious content, after tweets were sent to the Wigan footballer. Many people have deleted their accounts & some people even commit suicide due to the constant tormenting of fellow tweeters.
People are hacking accounts, stealing tweets and so forth.
Twitter may be far from a perfect all in one solution but it has many good things to offer at absolutely no cost to its members. No doubt twitters creators will also continue to further develop this social medium which can only further enhance its value for everyone.
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The annual event of World Book Day has been going for 15 years and has captured the hearts of the youth of Britain. But what are the real opinions of children? Do they appreciate literature?
World Book Day is used to bring children and books together. Authors have written unique stories for the day and there are discounts on some books and even free books are available, but has this event been effective?
After interviewing students, it is clear that their opinions on books are mixed. Many of the children are engrossed by books and in the interviews most of the students have responded to the question “What is your favourite book?” with intelligent, thoughtful answers, but others did not have a favourite book or even replied that they did not like books and this opens up the question “What causes a child to be interested or not be interested in literature?”. Is it nature or nurture?
As a child all children are taught to read and write and the way these children are taught can have a serious influence on the future of that child’s reading life. If a child was taught to read using imaginative books which they enjoy and were encouraged to read further, then that child may want to continue this activity. It could also be influenced by the parents of our nation’s children. Do the parents read their children stories or do they plant their children in front of the television?
There is a correlation between exam grades and the amount of time spent reading as a child. Those who read more appear to come out with better grades and even looking at those that we interviewed this appeared to be the case. However it is not known whether children are born with the natural instinct to read or not. The choice to read is one by the child, not by those around them, so what causes a child to want to read?
The most common time of day for people to read is at night, and this originates from the activity of reading with parents and reading. This also helps make the child creative and encourages them to learn from literature. With this in mind, surely all children should be read to and encouraged to read.
For younger children World Book Day can help make them interested in books, but our interviews have revealed that older children donot have quite the same level of interest as World Book Day often receives less attention in the years after primary school. Perhaps World Book Day needs to be reinvented in order to target the older children of our country. Authors could be brought in to talk to children and encourage them to write their own stories.
Reading is a vital part of learning and it should be encouraged more. World Book Day can be the key to spreading a love of literature and can help the country’s youth to read more. But why keep it to one day? World Book Day should be used as a constant force to encourage reading.