Two students from The Forest Academy have won national reading awards. Sara Hunegnain, age 12, won Reading Solutions UK’s ‘Reading Plus Star of the Year’, and Sinan Guvan, age 12, won ‘Vocabulary Star of the Year’.

The Reading Plus Awards is an annual event organised by Reading Solutions UK, home of the online development programme Reading Plus, which is designed to improve students’ reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.

Will Mackintosh, Principal at The Forest Academy, said: “We are so pleased that the students’ hard work has been recognised again in these national awards. Reading Plus gives our students great opportunities to build their literacy and reading skills – opening their access to the curriculum and the written word! We have seen rapid progress in reading skills from our students, and our staff work tirelessly to support them. Congratulations to everyone involved.”

This is the school’s second year of success in the Reading Plus Awards. Last year, the school won Reading Plus School of the Year, and students Summer Parker and Kristina Semenko won Most Effort on Reading Plus and Most Words Read by a Student, respectively.

Sapna Vadher, Assistant Principal at Forest Academy, nominated this year’s winning students. She said: “Sinan has caught the vocabulary bug. He has mastered hundreds of words thanks to Reading Plus and is now on reading age 18, a remarkable six levels above his age group. He has a relentless pursuit of improvement, and his reading for pleasure has increased over time. We are extremely excited to see how his love for words develops in the future.”

“Sara is exceeding all expectations in terms of progress and engagement. For a Year 7 student to be reading at a graduate level is truly something to be proud of. We are excited about how our school’s literacy strategy and Reading Plus have elevated Sara’s confidence, self-belief, and access to the curriculum across all her subjects.”

Both students received a trophy, a certificate, and Amazon vouchers in recognition.

Sara said: “I loved hearing of the prize; it showed my hard work paid off.”

Sinan said: “I was really proud of myself, and I felt so happy. My mum was very proud of me, and my sisters were cheering me on.”

The Forest Academy also celebrated two students, both age 12, shortlisted in this year’s Reading Plus Awards. Yasmitha Piratheepan was runner-up for Vocabulary Star of the Year and Krishna Samudrala for Most Effort on Reading Plus.

Vicky Seymour, Reading Development Consultant at Reading Solutions UK, said: “It’s been fantastic to watch The Forest Academy accomplish exceptional outcomes year after year due to their unrelenting commitment to improving literacy across the school and the important role Reading Plus plays within their strategy. We can’t wait to see what they achieve next year.”