Gamechangers Case Study: Tudor Academy
May 2021
Year 5 students at Tudor Academy took part in their GameChangers workshop on a Friday afternoon and were ready to launch their fundraising project the following Monday morning! The Pupil Parliament were quick off the mark to identify their chosen issue of literacy and children’s access to books.
How they tackled their issue
The group planned to raise awareness about the importance of reading, and to volunteer their time to raise money for new books for their school library. The students wanted to expand their library for their peers as ‘some people don’t have any books at home’, wanting to increase the enthusiasm for reading as it provides so many benefits for young people. The students communicated their passion for reading and wanted to make good quality books accessible for all – ‘We love reading!’.
The students created a school-wide read-a-thon challenge, encouraging children from all year groups to take part and to set personalised reading targets. They were encouraged to read at home in their free time, asking for sponsorship from family and friends to raise money to buy new books that would excite and interest their peers.
The students really got into the project and brought in books from home that they wanted to donate to their school library. They brought in books that they may have grown out of but would be perfect for the younger pupils in their school.
The group split off into project teams to tackle their project. The Comms team sent letters to parents and teachers letting them know about the read-a-thon and how to take part. The Awareness Raising team spoke in assembly about the project and made posters to encourage students across the school to take part, and the Fundraising team designed the sponsorship form and collected all of the money raised by the students.
Gamechanger project success
The project was a huge success, a teacher at the school commented that ‘There has been a huge increase in reading and a nice buzz about the project. The children have really enjoyed reading at home.’ One student read for an extra 300 minutes a day and participation was school-wide.
The school expected to raise a few hundred pounds with their project but are delighted to have raised nearly £1,400 for their library. Not only will the school buy brand new books for their library, they will also visit local charity shops to buy good quality books – thereby giving money to local charities.