A new chapter for Leighton Buzzard school

The books were gifted to the school thanks to a partnership between the Morrisons Foundation and the National Literacy Trust, the the charities aim to encourage 125,000 children to discover a love of reading this World Book Day.

The books were presented to pupils by Katharine Smith, community champion at Morrisons in Leighton Buzzard.

She said: “It’s a pleasure to be able to donate these new books to a local school.

"There’s a great selection of books, so every pupil will be able to find a story they will enjoy.”

This donation is part of a wider national project funded by the Morrisons Foundation in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, which is working to fill the bookshelves of 492 primary school libraries and reading spaces with a collection of colourful, exciting and engaging new books published by Penguin Random House.

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust said: “We are thrilled to be working with Morrisons to bring the gift of reading to 125,000 children across the UK by getting brand new books into primary schools.

"School budgets are stretched, many school libraries are struggling and 1 in 11 disadvantaged children don’t have a single book of their own at home; so it has never been more important to get books into the schools that need them most.

"When children discover a love of reading, they do better at school and later in life, so we must do everything we can to inspire children to fall in love with reading for a lifetime.”