Pontefract Academies Trust has enlisted the support of Yorkshire born author and poet Conrad Burdekin to be their Patron of Reading.
More than 3900 children in Pontefract will benefit from this appointment and are all very excited about his upcoming interactive workshops that will be taking place in all Pontefract Academies Trust primary schools over the coming year to inspire and encourage their love of reading.
Conrad has written four books of children’s poetry, a picture book and many shorts stories which he shares and discusses in his school workshops. To date Conrad has visited more than 200 schools across the UK and when asked who inspired him to love books and writing he credited Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and his wonderful year 4 teacher Mrs Johnson.
Tom Fay, Director of Primary Education at Pontefract Academies Trust said: “To have a love of reading from an early age is wonderful and as a Trust we’re keen to embrace and encourage this as much as we possibly can. From an educational perspective we believe that reading is the gateway to everything! Having Conrad as part of our extended team to inspire future generations to enjoy reading and writing is fantastic. We’re looking forward to working with him and enjoying his workshops.”