Book buzz at Drew Primary School as every child takes home free books
Drew Primary School, part of the Learning in Harmony Trust and based in Newham, is celebrating a year of reading excitement following the launch of an inspiring new partnership with The Children’s Book Project. The initiative will see every child in the school receive two free books every term, helping to nurture a lifelong love of reading both in school and at home.
The Children’s Book Project is a UK-wide charity that redistributes thousands of new and gently used books to children and families, helping to ensure that every child has access to books they can enjoy and call their own.
The charity partnership was launched with a book-gifting event that transformed Drew’s reading area into a bustling pop-up bookshop. Each class was invited to visit and browse a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles carefully chosen to promote discussion of books and encourage reading for pleasure. Pupils were supported to explore books beyond their usual choices, discuss their interests with friends and discover new genres and authors.
On their second visit to the bookshop, the children had to opportunity to choose two books of their own to take home and keep. The event created a ‘book buzz’ across the school, inspiring conversations about reading amongst pupils and staff.
The breadth of choice was a particular highlight for many pupils. Year 4 pupil Noah said there was “so much choice,” with adventure and mystery titles proving especially popular. Chloe chose a story about Ancient Egypt, and Charlie selected a mystery book alongside another to share with his younger brother. Non-fiction also captured imaginations, with Year 4 pupil Adira delighted by the discoveries she made, explaining that her book taught her “lots of new, cool facts – like how to spot an upside-down rainbow!”
Miss Sandy, Reading Lead at Drew Primary School, said: “Reading at Drew is so important, and we are incredibly thankful to the Children’s Book Project for their generous donation. Seeing the excitement in the children’s faces as they set eyes on the different books made this gift even more special. Every Drew child took home books to enjoy, helping make reading exciting at home as well as at school, giving our children more chances to discover new stories, new adventures and a love of reading!”
Mrs Sharp, Headteacher at Drew Primary School, said: “Partnering with the Children’s Book Project this year is a wonderful opportunity. Being a strong, fluent reader is crucial to academic and creative success, and we are so pleased that every child in our school had the chance to dive into new authors or genres. Many of them were excited to share their books with younger siblings or cousins too, passing their enthusiasm for stories on.”