Basic Skills Cymru

New year, new ideas

7 February saw the high profile launch of the Read a Million Words in Wales campaign at Trelai Primary School in Cardiff. Big Brother 2006 finalist Glyn Wise and Planed Plant presenter Mari Grug oversaw the lively launch which included 20 school children, a giant game of jenga, music and a dancing dragon!

The campaign, aimed at Welsh primary-age children will run in schools until December 2007. There’s lots more information for teachers, parents and children on our website so have a look and get involved!

Eight new Quick Reads titles for Wales

After the success of World Book Day’s first major Welsh language initiative last year, four new titles written in Welsh are being published alongside a further four English language titles by Welsh authors on World Book Day 2007 (Thursday 1 March).

• Aim High, Dame Tanni Grey
• • Tacsi i’r Tywyllwch, Thompson DBE Gareth F. Williams
• The Rubber Woman, Lindsay Ashford
• Slaymaker, Gary Slaymaker
• A Day To Remember, Fiona Phillips
• Y rhwyd, Caryl Lewis
• AiBringing It Back Home, Niall Griffiths
• Os mêts, Bethan Gwanas

The aim of Quick Reads is to open new worlds for people, to make reading not just a skill, but a habit. Around 750,000 adults in Wales struggle with reading; the aim is to take these emergent readers along with those who have simply lost the reading habit and feel they don’t have time to read, and with help from bestselling writers, turn them into addicted readers.

Book Awards 2007

The Basic Skills Book Awards are jointly run by the Basic Skills Agency and the Welsh Books Council, recognising excellence in educational books and other resources. The Awards help teachers, librarians, and parents in selecting the best material for improving literacy and numeracy. The awards will be held next month on 30 March 2007 at the Hilton Hotel, Cardiff and will be hosted by BBC Wales Correspondent Wyre Davies. Alongside an Overall Excellence Award, the prizes fall into three categories: Primary Age-group Awards; Secondary Age-group Awards and Adult Awards with prizes for books and materials in English and Welsh language.

The shortlisted books will be collated into a catalogue and widely distributed to schools, libraries and bookshops. Copies of relevant successful publications will be sent to Post-16 organisations holding the Quality Mark and to numeracy and literacy co-ordinators in every LEA throughout Wales. These will be accompanied by a CD-Rom containing a PowerPoint presentation for training purposes.