A campaign's being launched today after Medway schools were ranked bottom in the country in teaching a certain age.

Get Medway Learning will be officially unveiled at Luton Junior School - the aim of the project to embrace the excitement of learning and improve Medway’s struggling schools.

It is a collaboration between Medway Council, schools and charities and part of it includes a buddy-style reading scheme.

Scroll down for video

Malou Bengtsson-Wheeler from national children’s literacy charity Beanstalk launched that part of the project earlier this year to recruit volunteers ready for the 2015 academic year starting. So far they have 25 but are hoping for 90.

The scheme gets volunteers into schools to help children read on a one-to-one basis, using literature pupils enjoy to keep them interesting in reading itself.

Mrs Bengtsson-Wheeler, the charity’s manager for the county, said: “This is about giving children the attention and support to help them realise that reading is something they can enjoy.

“Sometimes in classes children will try to read but struggle alone. That fear and sense of failure can fester and put children off reading forever.”

The latest Key Stage 2 results showed Medway was joint bottom in the whole country with Poole.

While nationally and in Kent the number of primary school children getting Level 4 and 5 in their tests rose, in the Towns it took a hit.

Just 73% of pupils got their level 4, compared to 80% in Kent and nationally. It put Medway below last year’s performance of 75%.

Head of children’s services Cllr Mike O’Brien said: “While we have some excellent schools in the area, some are not performing to the expected standard and while they are working hard to improve, some are not making progress quickly enough.

“I am excited to reveal our plans for Get Medway Learning, however the campaign won’t succeed unless we have teachers, governors, parents and children fully on board – only then can we make a real difference.

“This is an energetic programme focussed on sustainable improvement with the aim of seeing progress over the coming years. We need to drive up standards, give children quality education and enable them to achieve to the very best of their ability.”

To volunteer visit www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk or call 01622 662026 and for full details of the scheme see Monday’s Medway Messenger.