Gloucestershire reading project Read with me entered a team in this year's Gloucester 10k yesterday (Sunday, July 4).

They were aiming to raise vital funds to expand reading support in Gloucestershire schools from September.

Runners from Read with me were joined by teams from Gloucestershire Gateway Trust, Gloucester Services, Wotton Trotters and Group X to raise money for this important cause.

In term-time, Read with me volunteers give over 1,000 children a week the opportunity to read one-to-one with an adult, which has a significant impact on child literacy and confidence levels. The target is to increase this provision to 2,500 children a week by the end of 2021.

Read with me Founder Linda Cohen said: "The Gloucester 10k marks the end of an incredibly challenging school year but one in which we've been able to really make a difference to children when they've needed the help most.

"We now need to fast track this provision by raising more money and recruiting new volunteers to ensure that more children cross the line of being able to read well before they go to secondary school."

According to Read with me, children who are unable to read properly by the age of seven never catch up. One in five children leaves primary school unable to read. These children do less well at school, have dramatically reduced employment choices and earning opportunities, and a greater chance of going to prison. The UK has the worst literacy rates in the developed world.

The Read with me runners have raised £1,750 so far which will allow them to hear 35 more children read twice a week for a whole year. This doesn't include the money which will be raised by children at Grange Primary in Gloucester this week. They are running 10ks in teams to raise money for the campaign.

To sponsor the Read with me runners please visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/read-withme