Tonyrefail school 'overwhelmed' by book giveaway response
- Published
Harry Potter books, King Kong and Great Expectations were among those given out
A school said it was "overwhelmed" by the response from pupils who snapped up new books being given away as part of a literacy project to encourage reading.
Tonyrefail Community School in Rhondda Cynon Taf hung about 150 new books in bags on a fence outside the entrance for pupils to collect.
Most pupils in Wales have been learning at home because of Covid-19, with the youngest set to return on 22 February.
The school tweeted, external to say its books had been snapped up within an hour.
It now plans to run a loan scheme as some pupils missed out on the giveaway which was paid for with charitable funds.
The school's literacy project encourages pupils from age three to 18 to read a range of books for pleasure, in addition to those they are required to read as part of the curriculum.
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Harry Potter books, Great Expectations, Of Mice and Men and A Monster Calls were among those given out for children.
The idea to tie the book bags to the fence allowed families to walk by and collect them as the majority of children have been studying at home.
Parents took to social media to say the giveaway, which also included a hot chocolate and a tea bag, was the "highlight" of the week for some.
Mother-of-four Claire Enticott said collecting the books from school was a good way to remind children they were part of the community and that their friends and the school were "still there".
She also said it was a "brilliant" way to encourage reading as "distance learning has been hard for some children".
"The school has gone out of its way," she said.
The school plans to run a loan scheme as the books went so quickly some pupils missed out
Assistant headteacher Cara Marvelley said the response had been "amazing" but the "downside" was that some missed out, prompting a new loan scheme.
"We have had some lovely feedback," she said.
"Progress is still being made at home if we can still engage pupils with reading.
"We know that literacy and reading is such a strong foundation for everything else."
- Published11 February 2021
- Published11 February 2021
- Published5 February 2021
