Hanford girls are well known for their love of reading, so perhaps it was no surprise that they should embrace an ‘Extreme Reading Challenge’ with such gusto!    As they set off for half term, pupils were encouraged to have a photo taken of themselves reading in wild, whacky or unusual places.   This challenge is part of Hanford’s lead up to World Book Day on 7 March, during which girls will dress up as a favourite character from a book they have enjoyed.   Reading and dressing up are two favourite pastimes at Hanford so World Book Day is always a popular event; girls make their own costumes, putting huge amounts of thought and effort into their creations.

The Extreme Reading Challenge photos have flooded in and all of them have a very distinctive feel – creative, fun and certainly original, so completely in line with Hanford’s ethos.    From reading in trees, on ponies, on the trampoline, on a woodland swing, up a climbing wall, tucked up in haystacks, on rockets, in museums, on the dentist’s chair, in aquariums, hanging upside down, doing yoga and lying in sand dunes – we have loved every single entry so far.

Reading for pleasure from an early age brings huge benefits to children throughout their education and beyond.   Reading is central to the girls’ experience at Hanford and the pupils are often to be seen running from lesson to lesson with a novel in their hands, reading in a quiet spot under a tree in the summer or curled up in the cosy library during some precious free time.

All the photographs are on the ‘Gallery’ page of Hanford’s website, so please do take a look and perhaps get some inspiration for some Extreme Reading of your own!