Dolphin Sponsors AltFormat Story Comp 2008
7th Nov, 2007
Today Sir Steve Redgrave announced the dates for the 2008 AltFormat Story Competition, sponsored by campaign partners Dolphin Computer Access. This week's timely announcement, during both Right to Read Week and Dyslexia Awareness Week, highlights the legal right of print impaired students to be able to access the curriculum and comes after passionate debate over the provision of alternative format materials in UK schools.
In a campaign which has already captured the attention of government ministers and the national media, AltFormat aims to raise awareness of the rights of children with visual or print impairment to alternative format learning materials.
Olympic champion Sir Redgrave, who is dyslexic and has a dyslexic daughter, comments: "Important research from the States tells us that if students with literacy problems are exposed to learning materials in the form of combined audio and text, their exam scores can increase by almost 40%. As the parent of a dyslexic daughter, the benefits of class materials in a format that suits children with reading impairments seems obvious.
The AltFormat competition aims to raise awareness of how affective using alternative formats, such as large print, Braille or MP3, can be for students who have literacy difficulties or those who are visually impaired. I am therefore delighted to announce that the 2008 AltFormat Story Competition will be officially launched on Tuesday 22nd January."
The 2008 competition also sees a new competition partner, Dyslexia Action, joining the already influential team of AltFormat campaigners, including the RNIB, British Dyslexia Association and SightSavers International.
Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive Officer of Dyslexia Action, comments: "It follows that if you can not learn to read you can not read to learn. With the spotlight on the UK's literacy levels it is imperative that all students have equal access to the curriculum so they are able to reach their full potential. We are therefore thrilled to be involved in this year's AltFormat Story Competition. Many dyslexic children are creative and have some wonderful original stories to tell and we look forward to seeing these children participating in this exciting story writing competition."
The 2007 AltFormat Story Competition was hugely successful, concluding in a House of Commons prize presentation that saw Jim Knight MP for schools, and other influential MPs, directly engaging with the winners, their parents, Sir Steve Redgrave and other leading campaigners from dyslexic and visual impairment charities.
The 2008 competition will be officially launched on Tuesday 22nd January by Sir Steve Redgrave, with full competition details and prize information being available from the AltFormat campaign website www.AltFormat.com. The closing date for story entries will be Tuesday 18th March 2008. All entries will be judged on their creative merits and not their spelling and grammar!
