The "Diamonds Reading Stars" project was launched at South EndJuniorSchool Rushden on Monday November 7^th. South End is one of the six local Primary schools taking part in the project this term! Rushden and Diamonds players Daniel Chillingworth and Tom Shaw accompanied the Diamonds Study Centre Manager Rob Jones to the school in order to publicise the project and to see Reading Stars in action.

Reading Stars is a "Playing for Success" funded project supported by Northamptonshire Study Centres, Northamptonshire County Council, the Department for Education and Skills, the National Literacy Trust and the professional sports clubs themselves.

Diamonds Reading Stars is a project exclusive to the Northamptonshire Study Centres and is unique across the country! The aim of the project is to motivate children to take part in reading and reading related activities with a view to raising reading standards in the participating schools.

Playing for Success sessions at the Diamonds Study Centre can only accommodate around 15 children from each school, and the idea behind Diamonds Reading Stars is that every child in the Year 5 classes in the schools involved in PfS (Playing for Success) can take part in some Diamonds related activity.

Every school now involved with the Diamonds Study Centre will be given a box of resources to use during the term. This box will include a large selection of suitable reading resources, many with a sporting theme, along with a selection of magazines and match day programmes all aimed at encouraging children to take an active part in reading.

Every time a child reads a book, magazine or programme they have to submit a book review. When the review is received by their teacher the child is given a sticker to place on the class Reading Stars wall chart. A selection of reviews, from all participating schools, will be placed on the Study Centre website, and over a term the children will try to collect as many stickers as they can. When the resources boxes are collected there will be a prize, from the Football Club, for the child in each school who reads and reviews the most books!

Rob Jones said following the launch that "the players listened to the children read, looked at their book reviews and talked to them about reading. The children were extremely excited by the fact that the players visited their school, they were very keen to talk about their reading project and book reviews and the fact that the scheme was linked to the Football Club had led to more children being motivated to read."

Rushden and Diamonds Football Club said, "We are delighted to once again be at the forefront of a unique and innovative project that we hope will prove beneficial for all those involved. The Diamonds Study Centre has enjoyed very successful seasons, and we hope that Diamonds Reading Stars helps us to strengthen our relationships with schools and the local community."

Jim Sells of the National Literacy Trust, a charity concerned with raising Literacy Standards for all ages in the UK, said: "Diamonds Reading Stars will provide opportunities for participants to learn more about reading, more about their local football club and will enable more children to feel a part of the Diamonds Study Centre. Children will start to associate reading with sport, which many of them relate to and enjoy, rather than something that they just think of as schoolwork. More importantly, they will know that their heroes on the pitch are readers, and if they want to emulate their heroes it is more than just kicking a ball."