Students and staff at Northampton Academy enjoyed a Macmillan Coffee Morning with a twist – combining cakes with their favourite books.
The fundraising event, hosted in the school library, was designed to complement Northampton Academy’s ‘Drop Everything and Read’ (DEAR) initiative. This scheme aims to promote reading amongst students by ensuring that the school library is an open and inclusive space and encouraging them to take advantage of regular reading opportunities during school hours.
The fundraiser brought together students of all ages, staff and members of the local community. This included David Hope from WHSmith at the Weston Favell Centre, who kindly donated the complete Harry Potter and Maze Runner series of books to the day’s book raffle in order to raise additional money for the cancer research charity. Many members of staff also tested their baking skills and brought in delicious homemade creations to sell on the day.
During the event, in addition to helping fundraise, students filled the library for a series of games and literacy-themed activities. This included some animated debates over their favourite book characters and the best plot themes they had read!
Year 10 student Benjamin, said, “What I enjoy about reading a good book is that if you try hard enough you can imagine every detail as if it’s actually happening. We get lots of opportunities to read at school either in the library or during 'DEAR' time. This allows us to explore many different worlds and settings and helps to improve our vocabulary.”
Reading Ambassador and English teacher Katie Vince said, "This is a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together and do something great for a worthy cause, as well as celebrate and promote the enjoyment of reading."