Bedford Academy - Combating Literacy

Earlier this year, members of Castle Rotary joined forces with students and staff from Bedford Academy to raise funds for much needed equipment to improve the level of literacy for those students with serious reading and writing difficulties.

10 Rotarians, some with their wives, together with 40 students and 10 members of staff from the Bedford Academy set off on the morning of June 10th to undertake a sponsored walking challenge to cross 100 bridges up and down the Bedford Embankment in a single day, (either solo or teams doing a circuit of 20 bridges each) meaning they covered a distance just over 11 miles….. almost a half marathon!

      There is overwhelming evidence that literacy has a significant impact on young people's life chances.  A person with low literacy is more likely to have reduced work-opportunities; 70% of pupils permanently excluded from school have difficulties in basic literacy skills. 10 to 16-year-olds who read for pleasure do better at school. Hence, literacy is a key focus at Bedford Academy as it is fundamental to enabling all students to fully access the curriculum. Funds raised will be used to purchase proven digital literacy resources which will make a difference.

       With the Bedford Community supporting the event through sponsorship and particularly a generous donation from the Gale Foundation, we were able to raise £3000 which was donated to the Bedford Academy at the beginning of the Autumn Term to enable them to purchase this digital equipment for those students in need of support with their literacy.

In addition, we were able to add £1400 to the Bedford Castle Rotary Trust fund to be used to support chosen deserving local charities and community support projects.

Tony Wildman