Evening News launches new reading project

As the daily newspaper of Scotland's Capital, the News has been a staple part of life at home for thousands of families for almost 150 years.

Pupils of The Royal High Primary help promote the Evening News reading project .

Now we are stepping in to the classroom as part of an exciting reading project which offers children the chance to learn about the world around them through current events.

The world has changed enormously since the Edinburgh Evening News first hit the streets in 1873 and our founder businessman John Wilson would not recognise the multi-media operation that we have become today.

But we still do fundamentally what we have always done by bringing you all the latest news on what is happening in and around Edinburgh as well as across the rest of the country and the world. That makes us a unique source of information for inquiring minds, young and old alike.

We have now joined forces with the News Foundation which has been successfully using newspapers as a fun way of learning in schools around the world for more than 40 years.

Teachers and schools can now register for the Reading Passport project, which will run from next month until December in primary schools across the Lothians, and is aimed particularly at pupils in P4-P7.

Each pupil taking part will get an activity book and a heavily discounted copy of the News delivered to the school once a week for six weeks.

During the project, the children will complete a series of fun and educational activities designed to help them develop a wide range of skills as they explore the local people, places and events, as well as what is happening elsewhere in the world.

Using their copies of the Evening News, teachers can use real-life stories to teach pupils about the world around them through current events.

At the end of the project, all participating students receive a personalised Certificate of Achievement.

Our project – which costs just £2.25 for each participating pupil – is being supported by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Councillor Paul Godzik, the city’s education leader, said: “Encouraging children to read and to enjoy reading from a young age is really important.

“We currently have a number of fantastic local and national literacy initiatives in our schools which aim to give our young people a greater interest in reading. The ‘Newspapers in Education’ project will add to these by encouraging P4-7 pupils to look at newspapers and consider the use of language, headlines and photos.

“Literacy is a key element of Curriculum for Excellence and we are keen to support initiatives which could contribute to raising attainment for all.”

Teachers also receive a comprehensive Passport Support Pack containing a wealth of resources to make the project a success in their classroom.

The Reading Passport Project will operate for six weeks from Monday, October 24.

Classes can be registered using the coupon published on this page before Friday, October 21. The project is being offered to all primary schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians, however it is limited to the first 30 classes to register.

There is no limit to the number of classes that can register from one school.

Schools will be sent a confirmation e-mail, followed by the Class Pack and Reading Passports following registration, with an invoice for payment to follow at the end of the project.

Alternatively, send the entry details by e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line “The Evening News Reading Passport Project 2016”.