PUPILS at a dale school have received a literary treat to celebrate World Book Day as part of an initiative to help children boost their reading skills.
Montalbo School, in Barnard Castle, was just one of 497 schools to get a bundle of books thanks to the Morrisons Foundation, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
The books, which including The Extraordinary Life of Amelia Earhart by Sheila Kanani and The Racehorse who Learned to Dance by Clare Balding, were delivered to the school by Morrisons’ community champion, Gillian Robinson, ahead of World Book Day last week.
Ms Robinson said: “I’m so proud to be helping kids in my community through this donation of books. We are living through challenging times and I hope these stories will give children at Montalbo some fun and enjoyment.”
The donation comes after a recent study conducted by the National Literacy Trust showed reading has provided a refuge for children during the ongoing lockdowns. The study showed 59 per cent of children said reading made them feel better with 32 per cent saying it helped them when they felt sad when they couldn’t see family and friends.
And 50 per cent said reading inspired them to dream about the future beyond Covid-19.
The Morrisons Foundation was set up in 2015 and since launching has donated more than £31million to charity. The initiative aims to encourage 125,000 children from local communities discover a love of reading on World Book Day. Over the past three years the company’s community champions have shared out 20,000 books with schools across the country.
