116 Sheffield primary schools receive brand new books from Bookmark Reading Charity worth £232,000

£232,000 worth of new books have been donated to 116 primary schools in Sheffield as part of an enormous donation from a national children's charity.

Local children's author, Caryl Hart, visited Emmaus Catholic and Church of England Primary School, in Manor, to run an interactive event with children, organised by the Bookmark Reading Charity, following their massive donation.

Each of the 116 schools received 200 new, high quality and diverse children's books, with each pack said to be worth £2,000. It is hoped the donation will help primary schools in Sheffield to develop a whole school reading culture and encourage reading for pleasure.

The charity will be offering to run reading programmes at these local schools and the charity is looking for more reading volunteers to help primary children in Sheffield develop their skills. Bookmark volunteers take part in two 30-minute sessions each week across six weeks with a child aged between 5-10 years old, reading stories and playing games on our secure online platform.

Emmaus Catholic and CoE Primary School won the charity's competition out of the 116 schools to recieve Bookmark and Carly Hart's interactive event.

According to the charity, each year, one in four children leave primary school unable to read well and disadvantaged children are disproportionately affected.

They've said struggling to read can contribute to poor educational attainment, lower literacy in adulthood and has even been linked to a lower life expectancy.