A new chapter for South Devon College after Library CoLRiC Innovative Practice Award 

You read it here first – South Devon College staff members are celebrating after the College library team was honoured with the Council for Learning Resources in Colleges (CoLRiC) Innovative Practice Award in recognition of literacy engagement!  

The College’s original South West Reading Challenge was seen as a very worthy recipient of the annual award, which acknowledges creativity, quality and the organisational impact of service provision on teaching, learning and the student experience. As one of the judges acknowledged: “An excellent nomination! The cross-sector partnership work is particularly interesting for the rest of the FE Library community.” 

Alex Barton, Library Services Deputy Head at South Devon College, is thrilled with the award: “My team and I are so proud that our reading initiative has been awarded the 2025 CoLRiC Innovative Practice Award! To receive national recognition feels truly wonderful, and it reinforces our belief in the value and impact of this project. At its heart, it’s about sharing the love of reading — something that we know has the power to transform lives.” 

Created to inspire reading in all students, the annual South West Reading Challenge is designed to be inclusive of all reading abilities – participants are tasked to either read two items (bronze), four items (silver) or six items (gold), and write a review of each.  

Learners can choose their own categories to read from, be that fiction, a recipe, poem, article or factual piece, and all curriculum areas take part, not just those studying English. 

Each completer is awarded a certificate and digital badge for their profile on their Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and entered into a draw to win prizes, which could include laptops, shopping vouchers, headphones and tablets. 

As one South Devon College Learning Opportunities student said: “Doing the reading challenge has opened up the door to loads of different genres I didn’t even know about. It has also improved my confidence when it comes to having discussions about a particular topic with other people.” 

What is even more impressive about the South West Reading Challenge is that it sees all institutions, from FE colleges and schools to public libraries, taking part. 

Institutions pay a small fee to join the scheme, of which 100% gets fed back into the prize fund. South Devon College creates a personalised digital pack for each organisation taking part, including posters, flyers, certificates and bookmarks, to help promote the scheme to their interested readers.  

^{The South Devon College library team (from left): Leah Crisp, Library Services Administrator; Lianne Smith, Library Services Administrator; Alex Barton, Library Services Deputy Head; Becky Lovell, challenge designer from the Digital Learning Team; and Denise Goldsack, FE Study Skills Coordinator}

“Our reading challenge is innovative – we are not aware of any other colleges doing it,” said Alex. “It is a multi-institutional event – not just FE colleges but other schools and public libraries take part.  

“It started off as the South Devon College Reading Challenge which ran for a few years before we opened it up to other colleges and it grew from there. 

“What is interesting is that not all participating institutions are from the South West – we have had colleges in London and the North take part!” 

Winning the national award, sponsored by IS Oxford, has huge significance to the future of the challenge, and it is hoped that it will kickstart a new chapter in the scheme’s reach. 

“We feel it could become fully national over time. The challenge is scalable – winning the award will have an impact on the growth of the scheme,” continued Alex. 

“In 2024-25 we had 10 institutions participate, which is a record for us, and students do it year on year, saying they really enjoy taking part.  

“Many institutions have integrated the challenge into cross-departmental delivery, involving curriculum staff, SEN and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teams and learning support — enhancing collaboration and encouraging student engagement across college life.” 

The judging panel was impressed by the South West Reading Challenge as a multi-institutional literacy and engagement initiative underpinned by inclusivity and flexibility, with one judge commenting: “Great approach to development of literacy not only across a large college but involving also other local organisations and inspiring some across the country, which is not an easy task.” 

Reading for pleasure has far-reaching benefits, including a positive impact on educational outcomes, improved wellbeing, including confidence and self-esteem, alongside a reduction in symptoms of stress and depression. 

Ben Cox, Interim Head of Student Services at South Devon College, commented: “I’m incredibly proud of our team for receiving this award, which is a wonderful recognition of their hard work and commitment to supporting learning.  

“We hope this award will inspire others to see the value of the initiative and the positive impact it can have. We are excited to share our experiences more widely and encourage other colleges to get involved.” 

Laurence Frewin, Principal and CEO of South Devon College, said: “I am absolutely delighted that South Devon College has received the CoLRiC Innovative Practice Award. This recognition is a testament to the creativity, collaboration, and commitment of our Library Services team and partners. The South West Reading Challenge is a shining example of how literacy can unite communities and transform lives.” 

The final words go to Alex: “I’m incredibly proud that this is a South Devon College initiative – one that continues to grow and inspire new readers every year. We’re excited to see where it might go next!”