Medical students at the University of Plymouth have been delivering reading sessions to local primary school pupils as part of a project to boost literacy in the city.
The Right to Read Scheme, run by Plymouth Children in Poverty (PCiP) and funded by Plymouth Drake Foundation, sees students from across Peninsula Medical School drop in online to read a story to pupils and follow it up with a discussion on the book’s message.
Each pupil then receives their own book, funded by Plymouth Drake Foundation, wrapped and with a name and sticker inside by non-profit organisation The Story Gifters.
The initiative was trialled earlier this year based on the knowledge that many children across the UK do not own a book, and that early years reading has been even further impacted by the pandemic.
Medical student ambassadors (WAMS) have been taking part in their spare time, with many ‘Zooming in’ between academic work and placement shifts. Medicine Foundation students out on their placements also supported the project. Their involvement came about thanks to PCiP’s links with Julie Monk, the University’s Widening Participation Officer in the Faculty of Health.
