In certain of the more socially deprived areas of Oxford there are large numbers of young children who, for a variety of reasons, receive little or no support for their reading development at home. Such children tend to go on to struggle with education more generally, and this impacts negatively on their future academic and life chances. This in turn means that they are ill-equipped to support the reading development of their own children, and so the cycle continues. STIR Oxford (Students Together to Improve Reading in Oxford) was set up with the aim of working towards breaking this cycle. The basic idea behind the project is simple but effective; Oxford students give up a couple of hours of their time a week to go into primary schools and read with the children who are most in need of their help. By engaging in shared reading with an interested, motivating adult, we hope that these children will gain confidence in their reading skills, and discover that as well as being a passport to more chances in life, reading is lots of fun! Want to get involved? The project launched in Michaelmas term 2008 at Larkrise Primary School, East Oxford. Over the course of 2009 we plan to expand the project into other schools, and for that we will need lots more enthusiastic volunteers to join the STIR Oxford team. If you’re interested in getting involved, and giving just a couple of hours of your time each week to make a real difference to the lives of children in Oxford, just email stir@oxhub.org and we'll let you know how to get started.
