Thousands of children and young people from across Victoria have spent the past few months enjoying their favourite books as part of the Premiers’ Reading Challenge.
Minister for Education James Merlino and Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos today congratulated more than 250,000 participants from 3,161 local schools, early childhood services and homes across the state.
They have read more than four million books as part of this year’s Challenge.
To complete the Challenge, students in years three to ten needed to read 15 books or more in the six months from March to September. For students in prep, year one and year two the Challenge is to read or experience 30 books.
Children who have not yet started school are challenged to read or experience 40 books with the help of their families.
More than 8,000 children from across Victoria participated in the accompanying Premiers’ Reading Challenge For The Early Years, reading and experiencing thousands of books.
The Challenge is an important literacy initiative that encourages more children and young people to read more often.
A key Education State target is to increase the number of year five and year nine students reaching the highest levels of achievement in reading by 25 per cent – and the Challenge will help meet that goal.
Since the Premiers’ Reading Challenge began 13 years ago almost 2.5 million students and children have read more than 45 million books.
For more information on the Challenge visit:
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“It’s great to see so many keen readers across Victoria take up the Premiers’ Reading Challenge to read more books and enjoy the benefits of reading.”
“I want to congratulate the more than 250,000 avid readers from 3,161 schools who participated in this year’s Challenge – you should be proud of what you have achieved.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos
“We know that regular reading from an early age can boost success at school and in life, and the Premiers’ Reading Challenge is about helping more Victorians realise these benefits.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020