Manor Park Primary Academy welcomed a special guest on Friday 13 May to present one of the first copies of Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration, a free book aimed at celebrating the life of Her Majesty and teaching young children about key historical milestones that have shaped her 70-year reign.
The Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, visited Sutton-based Manor Park Primary Academy (part of LEO Academy Trust) and gave a reading from the commemorative book to Year 5 pupils.
The book charts significant social, cultural and scientific events from across the Commonwealth, including the Windrush, the achievements of prominent campaigners such as Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai, and ground-breaking innovations such as the discovery of the DNA structure and the World Wide Web.
During the visit, pupils had the opportunity to read aloud to Mr Zahawi and ask him questions about the historic events, leading Mr Zahawi to comment that the pupils’ English teacher is clearly, “also brilliant because your reading is fantastic.”
With a vision for supporting children to develop a life-long passion for reading, Manor Park Primary encourages pupils to engage with rich and varied literature both inside and outside of the classroom. Literacy programmes on offer at the school include Reading Champions, the Economist Foundation’s Topical Talk programme, Reading Explorers Club and interactive ReadingZone Live resources from LGfL.
These opportunities help pupils to become confident and engaged readers and writers, and Manor Park Primary is proud to be celebrating extremely high literacy levels as a result. As one pupil told Mr Zahawi, “Manor Park Primary is “the best school in the world!”
The Platinum Jubilee commemorative book helps bring history to life in a fun and engaging way for children, whilst challenging young readers to critically reflect on these events and the vocabulary used in the book, and how they can incorporate some of the language in their own writing.
Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of State for Education, said:
“It was a privilege to deliver some of the first ever copies of the Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration book to Year 5 pupils at Manor Park Primary and read extracts about the upcoming Platinum Jubilee celebrations. I was blown away by their reading ability.
“The Platinum Jubilee marks a significant moment in this country’s history, and should inspire us all to reflect on Her Majesty’s dignity and commitment to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.”
Shareen Wilkinson, director of teaching and learning at LEO Academy Trust, said:
“It was an honour to welcome Mr Zahawi to Manor Park Primary and receive the “Queen Elizabeth: A Platinum Jubilee Celebration” book. This publication tells the story of Her Majesty’s life through an inclusive and memorable narrative, helping children to engage with the different events and people that have shaped our Commonwealth.
“At LEO Academy Trust we firmly believe that strong literacy skills lay the foundations for success in many aspects of a child’s life, from their social and emotional development to relationships and life opportunities. Providing as many moments as possible for pupils to read aloud and be read to, from a diverse literature base, helps them to better understand the world around them. We look forward to using this special celebration book in our English lessons and reflecting on the greatest milestones from the 20th century up until the present day.”
