Elutec Academy students and staff were delighted to be joined by Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, who visited on Friday 28th January.
Elutec Academy in Dagenham East has recently embarked on a new reading initiative for their year 12 students. The initiative, following gaps in students’ knowledge as a consequence of COVID19, aims to promote the love of reading, benefit students and help improve confidence.
Jon Cruddas, MP was invited to share with two groups of students in year 10 and year 12 what he is reading, and the importance of reading in his role as an MP and life in general. He said that he was inspired to read by his sister which in turn led him to go on to university and into politics. He expressed his joy in reading, especially Irish poetry by Seamus Heaney and that he has written a book and is currently working on more. The students were invited to ask questions and were encouraged to continue with their reading.
The visit by Jon Cruddas, MP was well received by both students and staff.
Jon said: "it's always a pleasure when I have the opportunity to meet young people at local schools, colleges and universities across my constituency. The reading initiative at Elutec is a great way to help fill some of the educational gaps that the pandemic has caused and it was great to hear more about the project. As with previous experiences the students had excellent questions and I look forward to visiting again in the future."