CELEBRITIES, footballers and authors will be called on to help encourage children to read at a literary festival. Oxfordshire Charity ARCh (Assisted Reading for Children) want to stage ‘Read with the Stars’ for children and families in 2015.

The festival, which organisers plan to host at the Kassam Stadium, aims to tackle low reading ability among children.

The charity is currently taking part in an online fundraising challange to raise funds to make this festival happen.

The BigGive Christmas Challenge, could mean that donations made to ARCh today could also be doubled by the national organisation which puts the charity in touch with donors.

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ARCh Development manager Elaine Adams said: “The literacy festival we are planning will be an exciting celebration of the joy of reading and the work ARCh does to inspire children to read from an early age.”

Festival, organisers want to attract families who normally don’t read together by getting well-known faces to sit down and read with children or give talks.

Author Philip Pullman said: “It sounds like a good idea, it is important for children because reading is a special, private part of enjoyment.

“It is something that doesn’t need any devices or batteries, just a real source of satisfaction and enjoyment. “I am very glad to see things like this happening.”

Melinda Tilley, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for education, said: “I am very happy to support anyone encouraging reading and ARCh are very good.

“We still have many children and adults that do not know how to read, so it is really important we have events like this.”

ARCh currently works in over 100 primary schools in Oxfordshire and supports around 700 children each week, providing one-to-one reading support to six to 11-year-olds.

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