A CHARITY which helps improve the reading skills of students in Huddersfield schools is looking for more volunteers.

Reading Matters is looking for more reading mentors so it can expand its work in schools across Kirklees.

Volunteers can be from all walks of life and be able to give a couple of hours a week to go into secondary schools to encourage young people with their reading.

Judith Churley is the new project manager for Reading Matters, based with the Kirklees Extended Learning Service in Huddersfield.

She started as a reading mentor herself and said: “Reading should be fun, but it is a skill for life, not just the classroom.”

Volunteers attend a two-day training course and are then placed in a nearby school to work with students for a 10-week period using a variety of materials that aim to make reading interesting and fun.

Independent research carried out for Reading Matters by Leeds Metropolitan University demonstrates an increase in reading ability, but also an increase in the confidence and self-esteem of young people who take part in the scheme.

The charity is based in Bradford and operates throughout Yorkshire, with about 224 volunteers in 100 schools.

They also offer training to Key Stage 4 and 5 students to become ‘reading buddies’ to the younger pupils and to parents and carers about reading with their children.

For more information on becoming a volunteer reading mentor or the other services offered by Reading Matters contact Judith Churley on 01484 222878 or check the website www.readingmatters.org.uk