I really enjoyed working with Westgate Hill Primary Academy Staff to create this video. After hearing about volunteering opportunities with the Laidlaw Schools Trust over the lockdown period, I wanted to get involved. I really liked that Laidlaw Schools Trust wanted to personalise the volunteering experience based on the volunteer. After reading my profile, Westgate Hill Staff suggested that I read storybooks for students to engage with while they are at home.

So, my volunteering activity was to read storybooks - such as The Highwayman - on video. Westgate Hill Staff then edited the videos to bring the story to life. I really enjoyed reading the books and it was great to learn more about Children’s Literature in relation to the school curriculum. I believe it is really important for students to engage with the books they are reading, and I was delighted to help with this by presenting The Highwayman.

I am very grateful to be involved in this project. The Staff at Westgate Hill Primary Academy were really supportive and enthusiastic. They did such a fantastic job at editing the video and selecting different children’s books and the whole experience was super interesting!