HELPFUL students have been visiting primary school pupils to encourage them to read. 

Ambassadors from Year 8 at West Lakes Academy visited St Bridget's Primary School to help Year 4 boys practice their reading. 

It is part of a new academy scheme to support learning in local primary schools. 

West Lakes Academy English teacher, Alannah Savage said: "It was our first session on Tuesday and our Year 8 students listened to the Year 4 boys read and then gave them praise on their reading skills. 

"It was such an amazing afternoon, all of the students were really engaged in the experience." 

She added: "We found that the younger boys were really receptive to someone older complimenting their reading ability. We also feel that this is an invaluable opportunity for our students to be role-models for younger students." 

The St Bridget's pupils will visit the academy in a few weeks as teachers hope the students can become pen pals. 

This will involve writing letters to each other to discuss their experiences of school, literacy and English. 

Headteacher at St Bridget's school Suzanne Smith said: "We were delighted to welcome students from West Lakes Academy to read with our children. The older students make great role models and show the children that reading is fun. 

"The year 4 children viewed the teenagers as 'cool' and went all out to impress them with their reading skills. It is another great collaborative project between primary and secondary." 

Next week, West Lakes Academy will host Year 3 and 4 boys from Gosforth Primary School to read with Year 9 reading ambassadors. 

These students will follow a similar programme to the children from St Bridget's. 

Mrs Savage said: "The end goal is to strengthen relationships between ourselves and our feeder primaries and to ease the transition for students from primary to secondary."