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Welford Road welcome for Author Week

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Leicester Tigers are this week welcoming thousands of school children to Welford Road as part of Author Week.

Held in the Premiership Suite in the Holland & Barrett Stand, the event aims to promote reading and improve literacy standards, and is a hugely popular feature of the Welford Road calendar.
 
This year’s Author Week will involve more than 5,000 primary school children and Year 7 and 8 pupils, with popular children’s authors conducting practical workshops and question and answer sessions.
 
Liz Warren, chairman of organisers Whatever It Takes, said: “This year we have over 5,000 pupils taking part in sessions across the week which is an incredible statistic.
 
“In recent years, we opened up the event for Years 7 and 8 students as well as our primary years and it is incredible to see how much kids from all backgrounds enjoy reading and writing.
 
“Having the backdrop of Welford Road is just brilliant and provides a real sense of occasion for the schools. We hope this, along with the learnings from our fabulous authors, that this will inspire the next generation of authors and help engage schools further.”
 
Karen Eagling, assistant head at St Barnabas school, said: “The pupils always look forward to this every year. We like to make it a regular trip for our Year 2s so that everyone has the chance to enjoy the week.
 
“Our kids are obsessed with reading, but often it’s the writing aspect they find daunting. So we hope meeting authors and helping them to create their own stories is the inspiration they need.
 
“Welford Road is such a great venue for events like this, not only do the pupils get to learn about reading and writing, but they are always amazed walking around the stadium.”
 
Author John Dougherty added: “I’m one of the regulars to Author Week and it’s fantastic to see so many faces every year. I sometimes recognise some of the badges and uniforms, as well as the teachers each year, and it’s great to see the kids already so engaged in reading and writing.
 
“I always want my sessions to be fun and so look to interact with pupils in different ways, from reading aloud, to getting them to shout out ideas, to even a little sing-along. Hopefully, we can inspire them just as we were.”
 
Click here for more details on Author Week and Whatever It Takes.