Nexus has donated funds to buy new books for Primary schools in Newcastle and staff from PWC and Starbucks will go into schools on a regular basis to hear children read from them.

The children will be selected by the schools according to their particular needs and priorities. Each child will spend two half hours each week reading with two separate ‘reading partners’ over the course of the academic year.

Canning Street and Chillingham Road Primary schools will be involved in the pilot scheme starting September 2009.

There is widespread acknowledgement that children vary in the ease with which they can read the words on a page. This linked with the trend that many parents stop hearing their children read beyond the age of 7 years creates the need for this project. Language comprehension is central to understanding all areas of the curriculum and to developing good communication skills for the future.