HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and Cressida Cowell at one of the new libraries. Photograph by David Bebber.
Each of the six schools selected for the project has a dedicated library space created by BookTrust and the sponsors of the campaign, and this stocked with 1000 titles, selected by BookTrust’s expert book selection team with guidance from the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), and donated by publishers. The project will monitor the impact of the new libraries on pupils' engagement and reading behaviour over the course of the following year.
Take a look at some of the incredible transformations below.
Take a look at some of the amazing transformations that took place at these school libraries
"Our library space was incredibly cramped, outdated and under-resourced." Benwick's school library before the transformation
The cataloguing of books for the new library went well thanks to the volunteers who helped us!
Ready to welcome our little bookworms
"Our library lacked its beating heart: the books." Dinnington's school library before
"We have a lot of organising to do and we still have a beautiful mural to be installed, but we have left school tonight with huge smiles on our faces. Scanning in all of our amazing new books for our library kept us busy!" Piles of books ready for Dinnington's new library
Dinnington library full of new books
Dinnington school's new library, with credit to Promote Your School
"The space had some tables and chairs, book cases and boxes of books in it, but was far from ideal as a library." Griffin's school library before
"Ms Doyle has started clearing our space (dumping ground!) ready for the magical transformation." Griffin's library undergoing its renovation
Griffin's new school Library
"What do you get if you mix wonderful new furniture with amazing new books? A life changing library, of course." Griffin's school library after
Griffin School's new library wall
"An old intervention room turned into a make-shift library/dumping ground!" Saviour school library before the installation
Out with the old and in with the new! The fabulous fitting team installed the bespoke shelving at Saviour school.
Saviour's Year 6 sorting our new library books into alphabetical order - and a hot chocolate while they talked excitedly about what they would like to read.
"Beautiful books added by our brilliant team in the holidays. The wall art added the wow factor to inspire tomorrow's readers." Saviour's new school library
"Boring and bland…I wonder what we could do with this space?" Skerne Park's school library before
"A space for new beginnings…" Skerne Park's school library before the installation
"This pupil was on a top secret mission! To scan and stamp our new library books… Mission accomplished!"
"Bob the builder doesn’t have a look in – our library was built in no time!"
"Reading for pleasure in the comfort of their new library space… amazing!" Skerne Park pupils reading in their new library
"The lack of stock meant that the library space was quite sparse and not an inviting place for children to access." Woodchurch school library before
"Mrs Davies brought the family in to help paint the library - a big thanks to Mr Davies, Grumpsy (Mrs Davies's dad) and Logie." Woodchurch being redecorated
Children unboxing the first of our brand new books
Our Year 5’s can’t wait to read their favourite books!
"Our Reading Ambassadors are ready to share their love of reading with all the other children in school." Woodchurch pupils in their new library
Waterstones Children's Laureate: Joseph Coelho
Poet Joseph Coelho is the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2022-24.
The role of Children's Laureate is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field. Find out what Joseph's been up to.