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Footballers champion reading
16/03/2009
Leading Scottish Premier League footballers are supporting a new project which uses the motivational power of football to encourage families to improve their reading skills, launched today by the Scottish Government, the Scottish Premier League and the National Literacy Trust.
With one in five Scots struggling with literacy skills, Scottish Premier League Reading Stars will aim to inspire a love of reading in people of all ages. The high profile and popularity of football players will encourage families to connect with reading and understand the relevance of reading to both players' lives and their own.
The project involves a footballer from each SPL club who has chosen their favourite adult and children's book to create an inspirational reading list. These books form the basis for reading sessions with groups of parents and their children who will meet at libraries across Scotland.
The 12 footballers - including Gary Caldwell, Steven Naismith, Jamie Smith and Michael Stewart - have selected children's books ranging from Harry Potter through to Roald Dahl classics. A diverse range of adult books have been chosen, including 'The Count of Monte Cristo' and the graphic novel 'Maus: My father bleeds history'.
Part of the Big Plus - the Scottish Government campaign to improve adult literacy - SPL Reading Stars is based on the successful Premier League Reading Stars model in England, although with a stronger focus on adult literacy than its English counterpart.
Partner libraries will receive free copies of the player book choices and host visits by the SPL players. They will also carry out targeted literacy work with 250 children and 250 adults who will receive free books, as well as reading incentives such as match tickets and club merchandise.
Motherwell FC player Mark Reynolds said:
"I enjoy reading because it helps to build up my knowledge on varying subjects and the many aspects of life which we have to face. It also helps me to relax after a busy training schedule, playing matches and every day chores. It can build up your motivation after reading about people who inspire by difficulties which they have to overcome in life and this can assist in making me move forward and try to achieve my aims in life."
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, said:
"The Scottish Government is determined to help parents and their children overcome barriers to improving literacy and SPL Reading Stars offers an excellent way for families to support each other in developing reading ability. The project will not only benefit those directly involved in the sessions, but will have wider benefits across communities that often struggle with literacy. Using the popularity of football we can offer new ways to improve reading and all the benefits that this can bring."
Lex Gold, Executive Chairman of the SPL, said:
"I am delighted that the SPL is part of this partnership that offers an innovative approach in providing solutions to literacy issues in Scotland. The involvement of professional footballers from the SPL as reading champions should provide inspiration to many to read and develop their skills."
Jonathan Douglas, Director, National Literacy Trust, said:
"Football is such a huge cultural influence in this country and many people aspire to be like footballers. Where we can harness this power, and get the message across that reading is important and valuable to the lives of footballers, it changes attitudes. To engage people with reading, as with many things, it's best to start with what you love. For so many, that means starting with football."
Damien Yeates, Chief Executive, Skills Development Scotland, said:
"With one in five Scots having difficulty reading, writing or using numbers, SPL Reading Stars is a great way of championing literacy skills and encouraging people to pick up books. The Big Plus and Skills Development Scotland are delighted to support this project and I hope that people are motivated by the campaign to get the support and help they need."
SPL Reading Stars is part of The Big Plus, a Scottish Government awareness raising campaign which aims to encourage adults to improve their reading, writing and number skills. The project is based on Premier League Reading Stars, an original project that began in 2003 and is a partnership between the Premier League, Football Foundation and National Literacy Trust.
The SPL Reading Star footballers, who have all volunteered to take part, and their chosen children's and adult books are as follows:
- Aberdeen - Jamie Smith (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S.Lewis; The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas)
- Celtic - Gary Caldwell (My Dad, Anthony Browne; A Lifetime in Race, Matthew Pinsent)
- Dundee Utd - David Goodwillie (Where's Wally, Martin Handford; Roy Keane: The Autobiography)
- Falkirk - Tom Scobie (Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson; Roy Keane: The Autobiography)
- Hamilton - Tomas Cerny (9 Fairy Tales, Karel Capek; Maus: My father bleeds history, Art Spiegelman)
- Hearts - Michael Stewart (The Twits, Roald Dahl; Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell)
- Hibernian - Joe Keenan (The Hardy Boys, Franklin W Dixon; The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas)
- Inverness CT - Jamie Duff (The Big Football Collection, Rob Childs; Sleepers, Lorenzo Carcaterra)
- Kilmarnock - Danny Invincibile (Lord of the Flies, William Golding; It's not about the bike, Lance Armstrong)
- Motherwell - Mark Reynolds (Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone, JK Rowling; The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay)
- Rangers - Steven Naismith (Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone, JK Rowling; It's not about the bike, Lance Armstrong)
- St Mirren - Jack Ross (James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl; Emperor: The Field of Swords, Conn Iggulden)
SPL clubs have a track record of credible and sustained activity in their communities. Education and Skills Development are core areas of work.
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that changes lives through literacy. It links home, school and the wider community to inspire learners and create opportunities for everyone.