A SCHOOL has celebrated the opening of its new library, which was funded by the hard work of its parent and teacher association.

Children’s author Julia Jarman joined Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Geoff Reid to officially open the new facility at Russell Hall Primary School in Queensbury today – the first day back after the Easter break.

Mrs Jarman, whose books include The Time Travelling Cat, not only helped to open the library but also stayed at the school for the day to hold workshops for the pupils, and signed books at the end of the day when parents were invited to view the new library.

The library is the latest school project to be funded by Russell Hall’s parent and teacher association, which has raised more than £6,000 from various events to help pay for the upgrade of the facility.

The changes, including more accessible shelves, have made the library more child-friendly.

Ten-year-old pupil Devon Chapman was chosen to be a “mini mayor” for the day at the library opening.

Head teacher Andrea Grist said: “We are delighted to welcome our special guests to school and to officially have our new library facility opened. The children are very excited at this new facility.

“The PTA has worked very hard to ensure that the fundraising events have allowed us to have a new library. Fundraising events have included a penalty shoot-out, Halloween spooky movie and disco, bake sales, and an auction of locally donated prizes as well as Christmas, spring and summer fairs across the year.”

After the opening, she added: “The day has gone really well.

“The new library is vastly improved over the previous one. It has been beautifully designed and is really inviting.”

She said the PTA’s next fundraising project would likely to be to buy more up-to-date maths equipment for the school.

Councillor Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Education, said: “The school was recently judged to be ‘good’ by Ofsted and in their report, Ofsted inspectors commented that ‘reading is at the heart of the improvements’.”

The National Literacy Trust recently started a new campaign to protect school libraries, as many face the axe due to tightening budgets.

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said: “Good school libraries are powerhouses of reading and learning. They help raise pupils’ literacy levels, improve access to knowledge and stimulate a love of reading – all of which give children the building blocks they need to succeed at school and beyond.”

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