Blackburn Rovers Community Trust backed World Book Day!

Blackburn Rovers Community Trust backed World Book Day!

Blackburn Rovers Community Trust have given 300 free, brand-new books and 50 WHSmith vouchers to 20 primary schools in their local area to support young readers as part of an exciting partnership between Premier League Primary Stars and the National Literacy Trust to celebrate World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March.

The partnership has enabled 27,000 free books to be distributed to schools across England and Wales via 81 professional football club community organisations delivering the Premier League Primary Stars education programme.

National Literacy Trust research found that children who own their own books are nearly three times more likely to enjoy reading. Lockdowns have made it difficult for children to access physical books because of school and public library closures, so getting copies of books into the hands of children is more vital than ever.

Since the launch of the Premier League Primary Stars education programme in 2016, the Premier League has distributed 152,000 free books to schoolchildren.

“We are proud to be working in partnership with the National Literacy Trust and Premier League Primary Stars to get quality books into the hands of children who will benefit most from them. […] Our pupils, who take part all year round in our Blackburn with Darwen School Sports Partnership, will be thrilled to receive their free books and vouchers.”

Amy Taylor, Head of School Education at Blackburn Rovers Community Trust

Teachers can also access an exciting Premier League Primary Stars World Book Day football-themed challenge too.

“World Book Day celebrates the power and joy of reading. We know that children who have books at home do better in school, so we are delighted to be able to distribute such an incredible number of books and vouchers to schools across the country with the help of the community organisations at 81 brilliant football clubs. […] For this year’s World Book Day, we are challenging as many pupils as possible to join their local library, gaining a lifelong access to books and reading for free! I’d like to thank our partners at World Book Day, WHSmith and Walker Books for making this possible.”[…] I’m also very excited about the live event with Kelly Somers, Ben Lyttleton and Alex Bellos, three brilliantly energetic personalities who inspire children to get into reading through their love of football.”

Jim Sells, Sport and Literacy Programme Manager at the National Literacy Trust