The Rotary Club of Dartmouth has been collaborating with Dartmouth Academy over the past two years in a project entitled Literacy Improvement to Facilitate Education (LIFE).

The project is jointly funded by a District Grant from Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland with matched funds from the Rotary Club. £3,000 was given to Dartmouth Academy to purchase Kindle e-readers, headphones and e-books for its pupils.

Students who the school felt could benefit from additional encouragement with their reading were offered the use of these devices. This was part of a package of support which also included one-to-one sessions with the librarian, Mrs L Wilson, and Rotarians acting as "Reading Buddies".

Altogether ten Rotarians and their partners participated in these weekly sessions, usually 5 to 7 attending each week during term time.

In the first year, the targeted intervention was offered to forty students in years 7, 8 and 10. Over the course of the year improvements in reading age were seen in all age groups.

It was most marked in the youngest class and in those who, when they moved to a higher class, were able to continue with the support sessions. In this group of students, reading age increased over the year by as much as three years. An average improvement for all was two years.

Accordingly, the focus of the project for the second year moved to Primary phase students in years 4 and 5.

Extra Kindle devices were purchased with "Kid Proof" covers to allow greater flexibility of use, including home use. A library of age appropriate e-books were chosen.

At the completion of the project this month, the improvement seen was just as the first phase suggested, almost 2 years increase in reading age in one year.

In addition to the measurable improvement in reading age, teachers volunteered the observation that “the performance in other subjects was improved, underlining the fundamental importance of reading ability in all aspects of education.”

The Rotarians involved really enjoyed the Reading Buddy sessions and have offered to continue with these after the successful conclusion of the project.

They were: “very touched by the very positive and spontaneous comments of the pupils during a small thank you session at the end of last term.”

Peter Goldstraw who led the project for the Rotary Club of Dartmouth said, "We have all greatly enjoyed being part of the LIFE project, and are grateful to our club for their support.

“Young people love new technology and they taught us how to use Kindles whilst we encouraged their interest in reading and increased their vocabulary.

“It was wonderful to see how the growing ability of the students brought new confidence and a joy to reading. The legacy of this project will consist of so much more than the equipment and e-library.

“There are educational lessons to be learnt and many fond memories for young and old alike.”