On Wednesday 24 June, we were excited to host our annual Partner, Volunteer and School Recognition Awards in London. During this special evening, we celebrated the remarkable achievements of our community - recognising the dedication of our volunteers, the support of our partners, and the collaboration with our schools that makes it possible for us to provide children with one-to-one reading support at the time they need it most.

This year's ceremony took place during the National Year of Reading 2026, in which Chapter One is proud to serve as a lead delivery partner. It was also a moment to mark the progress of our One Million Stories by 2030 campaign - which tracks the stories shared between volunteers and children since 2018, as we work collectively towards reaching one million by the end of the decade. Every story celebrated during the evening was part of that count.

We are enormously grateful to our Gold Partner Janus Henderson Investors for generously hosting this celebration and enabling those unable to attend in person to join us virtually for the presentations.

The award shortlists and winners 🏆

Outstanding Volunteer Award 2025-26 (reading with one child)

This award recognises the volunteer who has shared the most stories with a child this year

Winner: James Blaney, Royal London - James, who is in his 3rd year of volunteering with us as part of the team from our Silver Partner, Royal London, had done 21 hours and 84 stories.

Shortlisted:

• Jordan Russell, Amentum

• Sunita Patel, Turner & Townsend

• Melissa Birkhead, Bloomsbury

• Linda Hellard, Deloitte

Outstanding Volunteer Award 2025-26 (supporting more than one child)

This award recognises the volunteer who has shared the most stories with two or more children this year

Winner: Lucy Hollings, Eversheds Sutherland - Lucy has read with 2 children this year for 19.5 hours and shared 78 stories!

Shortlisted:

• Elisabeth Pickles, Tutorfair

• Luke Taylor, Severfield

• Jake Todd, Atos

• Jenna Strain, Altrad Integrity Services

Reading Commitment Award 2025-26

This award celebrates the corporate partner team that provided the highest number of stories read per volunteer

Returning partner

Winner: Compare the Market - Compare the Market, who has been supporting us since 2022, have averaged 38 stories per volunteer.

Shortlisted:

• Arup

• Balfour Beatty

• T.Rowe Price
  

• CACI

New partner

Winner: Stephenson Harwood - Stephenson Harwood has averaged 37 stories per volunteer.

Shortlisted:

• OCU Group

• BPCE Equipment Solutions

• Alfred H Knight

• Saba Park Services

Volunteer Growth Award 2025-26

This award celebrates the partner with the highest increase in volunteer numbers since last year

Returning partner

Winner: Eversheds Sutherland

Shortlisted:

• Mott MacDonald

• Serco

• Irwin Mitchell

• Cavendish Nuclear

New partner

Winner: Saffery

Shortlisted:

• BDO

• Nomura

• Kingsley Napley

• Bouygues UK

Outstanding Teacher Award 2025-26

Winner: Yvonne Woolley, Roselands Infants' School, East Sussex. Yvonne has been a Chapter One teacher for two years does an exceptional job of keeping in touch with the volunteers supporting her class, and is ever-mindful of the fact they’re giving up their time. Her kindness, warmth and gratitude are evident in every interaction.

Shortlisted:

• Emma Gaunt, Broadfield Community Primary School, Manchester

• Maj Islam, Thomas Buxton Primary School, Tower Hamlets, London

• Claire Buxton, Haveley Hey Community School, Manchester

• Zine Brew, Grasslot Infant School, West Cumbria

Outstanding School Award 2025-26

4+ classrooms:

Winner: Leighton Primary School, Peterborough - Leighton Primary School has 5 classes numbers. Volunteers from Wavenet, Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, Compare the Market, Eversheds Sutherland, Kier Construction, Mishcon de Reya and Heidelberg Materials UK rated 94% of sessions as successful.

Shortlisted:

• Hillstone Primary School, Birmingham

• Paston Ridings Primary School, Peterborough

• Broadfield Community Primary School, Manchester

• Richmond Hill Primary School, West Cumbria

3 classrooms or less:

Winner: Summerville Primary School, Salford - Summerville Primary School has 3 classes. Volunteers from Cisco, Clarion Housing, KPMG, Kennedys, Alfred H Knight and Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation rated 95% of sessions as successful

Shortlisted:

• Broughton Moor Primary School, West Cumbria

• Five Ashes Church of England Primary School, East Sussex

• Evelyn Street Primary Academy & Nursery, Warrington

• Woodfield Primary School, Doncaster

Above and Beyond Award 2025-26

Joint winners: FactSet and the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation

FactSet - FactSet has been a Chapter One partner for five years, both here and with our sister organisation in the USA. This year, they’ve not only fielded volunteer readers, but also invited the children of Prior Western Primary School in Islington to their offices for a fantastic creative visit to see ‘what the grown ups do all day’. In addition, they ran an internal, global story-writing competition, bringing to life two wonderful new stories for the Chapter One platform, and they have given a substantial donation to support the ELI programme and our core costs.

The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation - Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation is one of our Platinum Partners, doing brilliant work to link literacy with food insecurity. This year they sponsored our first Poetry Book for the Platform! They ran a poetry competition inviting children to write 5-line poems about fruits and vegetables. Championed by the Sodexo Parents and Carers employee network, the competition brought together schools, Sodexo employees and their families across the UK to shine a light on the link between what feeds our bodies and what feeds our minds. The new book "A Rainbow on my Plate". Collection of 12 poems will shortly be on the platform. They also have sponsored our Book Clubs programme.

Shortlisted:

• T.Rowe Price

• Rothschild & Co

• Janus Henderson Investors

• Euromonitor International

Child's Voice Award 2025-26

Winner: Paul, Weiss, - This award goes to a company that has involved children in an innovative way in their support of our programme this year. Paul, Weiss hosted an office visit with the children of St Alban's Primary School in London. The children had the use of the juice bar area to ourselves - complete with a jukebox that the children loved. Rob ran a story writing workshop - gathering ideas from the children and their volunteers to feed into a new book for Chapter One - this will be first book on the platform written by a class. “Lost and Found” starres characters chosen by the children - Bebe (a cat) and Peb (a dog) and Herry the Bin!

They also enjoyed an office tour - including getting hands on in the mail room, and then a delicious lunch (school dinners will never be quite the same for the children). And then a trip to Waterstones Piccadilly where each child chose a book. It was a day all about creativity, choice and building identities as readers and writers!

Chapter One Champion Award 2025-26

Winner: Simon Peacock, Sir Robert McAlpine - Over four years Simon has read with children himself and mentored new volunteers - particularly those working with shy or reluctant readers. He has built an internal volunteer network to share experience and best practice, and facilitated wider community engagement including a school visit to the Sir Robert McAlpine offices. He wrote a heartfelt letter to his child at the end of his first year and had it translated into Polish so the family could understand how proud he was of their progress. His current pupil has flourished significantly in both confidence and reading ability. Simon also regularly attends our Boost Your Impact Sessions to help field questions from volunteers about his experience and the challenges he’s faced along the way.

Shortlisted:

• Cristiana Veloso, Ayvens - Cristiana’s child hung up on her, ignored her, pretended not to be there, shut down when he didn't know a word, and hung up if he didn't win a game. She kept going regardless - seeking advice from Chapter One and colleagues, taking time to understand what he liked and didn't like, and gradually building enough trust that they are now reading stories together.

• Paulina Nabažaité, Nomura - The Volunteer Coordinator as well as as volunteer, committed, patient and encouraging. She reads with two children, having taken over one pairing when a colleague withdrew, and is organising an office visit for the children. Paulina also organised a fundraiser for her school during the Autumn term, raising over £500 for books.

• Julie Lawton-Kellett, Deloitte - Julie has read with 2 children this year, and is known for her emotive, detailed messages to teachers - including one that moved the teacher to tears. At Meet and Greet events she makes a point of spending time with any child who doesn't have their volunteer present, ensuring no child feels overlooked. She makes every child she encounters feel genuinely special.

• Becky Kerr, Amentum - For working patiently with a child who finds both reading and concentration particularly difficult. She communicates openly with the class teacher, welcomes their feedback, and continuously adapts her approach to get the best out of every session. The feedback she wrote after a recent breakthrough session - "I have no words! That was THE BEST SESSION EVER!"

• Eliane Pepper, Heidelberg Materials UK - For three years of consistent and fierce advocacy - encouraging colleagues to sign up, building awareness and enthusiasm across the organisation, and taking part in a podcast to share her journey. She openly shares how the programme supports her own mental wellbeing and sense of purpose.