A primary school
has won a £15,000 makeover for its library as part of an initiative to
improve pupils’ literacy.
Middleton Primary
School in South Bretton, Peterborough, won a Peterborough Literacy Campaign
competition with partners, the School
Library Association and furniture company BookSpace, who are
designing and funding the renovation. Construction work is due to start in
the school summer holidays and the new reading space is expected to open to
pupils during the autumn term.
Middleton Primary
School impressed the judges with innovative ideas for a space which
celebrates reading. In their entry the school wrote that their current
library which is located in a busy corridor has ‘no sense of the wonder of
reading at all’. Middleton Primary School’s vision for the new space they
have chosen, located in a quiet area of the school, includes supporting
positive reading role models for children. Parents will be invited into the
school to read with their children and there will also be an audio area where
teachers and children can record and listen to stories.
As well as the
library makeover, Middleton Primary School will receive advice and staff
training from the School Library Association to ensure its new reading space
becomes an example for other schools across the country to learn from. The
judging panel comprised of BookSpace Managing Director Helen Thomas, School
Library Association Director Tricia Adams and the National Literacy Trust’s
Hubs Manager, Jason Vit.
Middleton Primary
School’s headteacher, Kathy McDermott said:
“We are absolutely delighted to
have been given such a wonderful opportunity to create a new reading space
for our school community. I have no doubt that this exciting space in our
school will inspire us all. We cannot wait to get started!”
The National
Literacy Trust’s Peterborough Hub Manager, Sally Atkinson said:
“The library makeover is a fantastic
opportunity for Middleton Primary School to create an outstanding school
library to encourage a culture of reading for enjoyment amongst pupils which
is so important for boosting literacy levels.”
BookSpace Managing
Director Helen Thomas said:
“Middleton Primary School stood out for me
because of their exciting plans to combine the networks they already have in
place with lots of new ideas to reach their ultimate goal of enabling their
children to become independent readers.”
School
Library Association Director Tricia Adams said: “We’re delighted we will be
working with Middleton Primary School to develop its new library for the
benefit of the pupils and the community with BookSpace and the Peterborough
Literacy Campaign. The School Library Association is committed to supporting
everyone involved with school libraries, promoting high quality reading and
learning opportunities for all. Congratulations to Middleton Primary School
which has shown its commitment to succeed against a strong field of high
quality entries – now let’s make the library happen!”