Leeds Trinity University is proud to support the Leeds Year of Reading, to encourage more schoolchildren to read.

The initiative, which runs from September 2019 to September 2020, has been launched by Leeds For Learning; a team at Leeds City Council, dedicated to helping schools and colleges to support their learners.

It has been set up to address the large gap in achievement between secondary school students who read books for pleasure, and those who do not.

Phil Mellen, Deputy Director for Learning at Leeds City Council, said: "A love of reading leads to a love of learning, and this helps to underpin achievement in all subjects at both primary and secondary schools. We feel it is vital that the city supports children, families and communities to engage with reading and all of the associated activities that support reading."

Leeds Trinity is supporting the initiative through the University's placement programme for trainee teachers. From January to March 2020, Primary Education students, in pairs of two, will spend one day per week at a school, with a focus on literacy and numeracy in the classroom. The trainees will then return to the same school from April to June for an eight-week block placement.

Deborah Garcia, Schools Partnership Manager at Leeds Trinity University, said: "The Leeds Year of Reading is a fantastic initiative to encourage more schoolchildren to read, and we are proud to offer our support through our placement programme at Leeds Trinity. Our trainee teachers are keen to gain experience in schools and we know schools benefit from having additional support in the classroom. It's also a particularly useful way of keeping a recruitment pipeline of teachers coming through."

Phil Mellen added: "We are delighted to be working with Leeds Trinity University across the Year of Reading. The year is a great opportunity for the whole city to get excited about a love of reading of stories in every form.

"The involvement of Leeds Trinity staff and students will really help to support reading activities in schools and communities across Leeds."

Throughout the year, hundreds of events and activities will take place across Leeds to encourage more people to read. From Non-Fiction November and Storytelling Week in January, to the Children's Literature Festival, Summer Reading Challenge and Leeds Book Awards, there will be something for everyone to get involved with.

To find out more about Leeds Year of Reading, visit theLeeds for Learning website, follow@LeedsYOR on Twitter and use the hashtag#LeedsLovesReading.