Preston tuition company hides books as part of 'novel' literacy initiative
A Preston-based private tuition company has come up with a ‘novel’ way of encouraging local children to read during half-term – by hiding books across the area.
Conexus Tuition – Preston West and South Ribble has placed the books in easy-to-discover places in Cottam, Hutton, Longton, and Penwortham.
Without giving too much away, the books have been ‘parked’ in places where parents are likely to take their children for exercise and play during half-term week.
The idea for the book came from Kevin Wrenn, who runs several local franchises with Conexus Tuition, a UK franchised -based company set up in 2013 to offer exam focused tuition for young people.
With the help of his four-year-son Zack, Kevin prepared for half term by hiding 30 children’s books wrapped in plastic.
He explains: “As a former primary school teacher of 15 years who specialised in maths and English before setting up my tutoring business, I have always been passionate about early literacy and encouraging children to discover a passion for reading.
“With half-term approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to donate books but to do so in a fun way through the book hunt.
“The books are very easy to find, and we have been encouraging parents to let us know where they found them by posting them on social media and tagging us in.”
As well as receiving free books, anyone who finds one and tags Conexus Tuition Preston and South Ribble on Facebook will be put into a draw to win a free adult and child ticket for a Preston North End league game of their choice this season.
And the company is also offering parents 50% of their first two tutoring sessions if they sign up to any of the classes the company runs at venues across the area.
Since setting up his business in 2022, Kevin has seen demand for his sessions skyrocket as parents seek to bridge gaps in their children’s learning – with the disruption caused by Covid-19 school closures continuing to be one of the key factors.
Kevin and his team of fully qualified teachers now provide a total of 9 classes in different subject areas across Preston and South Ribble, with more to come in future months.
He added: “We now support around 100 local children and demand continues to rise as important dates such as 11-plus, SATs and GCSEs approach.
“The pandemic may be a distant memory for many people now, but not for the parents whose education was disrupted during this time, and this will unfortunately continue for many years still to come.
“Schools have done a fantastic job helping to get children back on track and we are simply complementing this by bridging any gaps in learning, creating momentum and building confidence via focused, one-to-one and small group sessions.”
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