Bradford has been chosen as one of three pilot areas for a £200,000 literacy scheme to bridge the gap between primary and secondary schools.

Booktrust is appealing for volunteers to work with about 300 11-year-old children in the city who have ‘not reached their expected reading level in English’ for around five days during the school summer holiday between June and September.

The charity will hold an information session for anyone interested in volunteering for the scheme at the National Media Museum in Bradford between 2pm and 5pm next Thursday.

Simon Richards, training and volunteer manager for Booktrust, said: “The project aims to promote children’s enjoyment of books and encourage them to see reading as a pleasurable activity rather than a chore.

“Booktrust will be running a three-tiered pilot project in Bradford, Hull and Leeds to help support children moving from primary to secondary school that have not reached their expected reading level in English.

“The move from primary to secondary school is particularly important in the development of reading skills. The project will encourage reading for pleasure and help bring the experience, enjoyment and confidence of reading to all.”

The scheme, which has been funded by a grant from the Education Endowment Foundation, will work with five secondary schools in Bradford. Each will be asked to provide details of their feeder primary schools and children who could benefit from extra help. The youngsters will then be offered reading material and support from volunteers and invited to two fun days during the holiday.

An evaluation of the project will be carried out by Sheffield Hallam University and Queen’s University Belfast.

For more information, visit booktrust.org.uk or e-mail simon.richards@booktrust.org.uk