About REP

REP's history begins with the Penrose Rotary Club.

REP's history begins with the Penrose Rotary Club. Harvey Alison of Penrose Rotary came up with the concept. He identified an untapped resource of active retirees who wanted to contribute in their communities, and created a community solution to support students with their literacy. Harvey’s innovative, flexible team approach proved robust and effective, with the partnership eventually becoming known as REP – Rotary Reading Enrichment Programme.

The programme was funded and developed under the direction of Penrose Rotary, and funded by the Penrose Rotary, Newmarket Rotary, Chenery Trust and Lois Dalley Trust. REP was piloted in 1996, at One Tree Hill College. One Tree Hill College teacher Brian Langdon developed the concept into a model that could easily be adopted by other schools.

REP is now in eight North Island schools. It continues to be led and funded through the Rotary Club of Penrose, along with a large number of donor organisations. While Rotary has an important leadership and linkage role, it's not necessary to be a Rotarian to get involved with REP!

A Simple Model

Easy to adopt

REP is simple and easy to implement. There's no cost involved for the Rotary Club, and minimal cost for the school.

Aligned with curriculum

The programme covers all strands of the literacy curriculum: oral, listening, reading, writing and visual.

Positive results

Along with giving the students a large boost in confidence, the results show solid literacy gains.

"I enjoy reading so much,

I now read to my sisters at home"

Mutual Enjoyment

Students love the programme – they enjoy the fun, supportive environment and the one-on-one time with a warm tutor who is interested in them. They comment on the 'room full of smiles' when they enter the classroom.

Volunteers also love it. They know they are making a difference with each conversation they have, it's invigorating, and they meet other interesting adults.

"REP has made me a more confident person by giving me the skills and understanding I needed" – Keana, REP student

What is REP? The Programme in Action