Pupils from a Nidderdale school are hoping to spread Christmas cheer and the joy of reading with children across Yorkshire.

Belmont Grosvenor School has donated more than 500 books to Bradford Stories, the campaign from the National Literacy Trust and Bradford Council which aims to improve literacy levels in the city by promoting reading, writing, speaking and listening.

The books, ranging from babies’ first picture books to simple readers, topic books and young teenage novels, will be gifted to children across the Bradford area, many of whom don’t own a single book.

Imran Hafeez, manager of Bradford Stories, said he was delighted to receive the donation of books – and pledged to deliver them to families across the city who need them most. He added:

“Last Christmas, before the pandemic, we found that more than 5,000 children in Bradford don’t own a single book and our fear is that with the closures of libraries and lockdown restrictions, this number will have increased.

“We are continuing to reach out into our communities through partners and volunteer Literacy Champions with the gift of books and we are aiming to distribute over 10,000 by Christmas this year. This kind donation from Belmont Grosvenor School allows us to fulfil this task during a very difficult time.

“We hope to bring the joy of reading to many children who otherwise wouldn’t have a book.”

This week, staff from the independent school, based in Birstwith, travelled to Bradford to deliver the boxfuls of books to the Bradford Stories storeroom in the city.

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Belmont Grosvenor School’s book donation comes as Premier League footballer Marcus Rashford announced the launch of a national book club to promote literacy and reading. His aim is to give away thousands of paperbacks and hardbacks to children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Jo Henderson, who runs the nursery at Belmont Grosvenor School, said:

“All our children here at Belmont Grosvenor School and Magic Tree Nursery are lucky enough to have access to books, and to benefit from the joy and escapism that reading, and being read to, brings.

“We hope that by donating some of our school’s books to Bradford Stories we can help, in some small way, improve the lives of children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds. We know the books will be distributed to those who need them most and we hope that brings some happiness over the festive season.”

Bradford Stories operates a number of other community-based projects to tackle low-literacy levels in some of the city’s most disadvantaged wards. These include the Bradford Schools Literacy Project, working with 53 schools across the city to improve literacy, and running a team of Literacy Champion volunteers who support and inspire their local communities to engage with reading and writing.

Education leaders in North Yorkshire have vowed no child will be left behind as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

A national package of £1bn of support has been promised by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, of which £650m will go to state primary and secondary schools, and the rest to help disadvantaged children to access high quality tuition.

Supported by North Yorkshire County Council, headteachers across the Harrogate district are now looking at the best ways to help students catch up on missed learning over the last three months. Stuart Carlton, corporate director of children and young people’s services at NYCC, said:

“School leaders and staff will be looking at how best to use the government’s funding for catch-up education.

“There will be a no one-size-fits-all approach to this; schools will be making their decisions based on the needs of their pupils, the availability of teaching staff and other considerations. It may be they run intervention programmes, bring in extra teaching capacity or “bolt-on” lessons at the end of the traditional school day.

“But the county council and North Yorkshire’s schools are all completely committed to making sure no child’s education loses out as a result of the pandemic and will be working very hard to make sure we get every pupil to where they need to be in their academic progress.”

Mr Carlton thanked pupils, parents and teachers for their hard work in challenging circumstances this year.

At present, Years 10 and 12 are being prioritised in secondary schools, with a quarter of these year groups in school at a time. The education secretary has announced he expects all pupils in both primary and secondary schools to return to full-time lessons in September, with more guidance to be published in the coming weeks.

Mr Carlton said NYCC and schools are keen to have that guidance soon in order to allow them to plan for a safe return. Independent holiday clubs and activities should also be resuming this summer, allowing children to be cared for while parents work.

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Meanwhile, an independent school near Harrogate has reopened to all pupils this morning, following changes in government guidance.

Belmont Grosvenor, a prep school based on the edge of Birstwith, has welcomed pupils from reception up to Year 6 thanks to small class sizes and extensive grounds.

Sophia Ashworth Jones, headmistress of Belmont Grosvenor, with school dog Zola

The school had previously opened its Magic Tree Nursery, as well as Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 classes from June 1, in line with government advice. When that changed to allow schools to make their own decisions about which pupils could safely return, it welcomed back Year 5 from June 15, before opening to the rest of its year groups today.

Headmistress Sophia Ashworth Jones said:

“We are fortunate to be set in 20 acres of beautiful grounds, our average class size is 15 pupils, and we have plenty of both indoor and outdoor space to manage the social-distancing guidelines well.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, our children, from nursery to Year 6, enjoyed outdoor learning daily, from taking part in Forest School lessons in our woodland, to performing in the school’s outside amphitheatre. Now our children are back in school, the outside space has taken on an even greater importance.”

While many parents have chosen to send their children back, the school is also continuing to offer remote learning for those who are staying at home. As well as daily lessons, the school has been offering online assemblies, show-and-tell meetings, book clubs and well-being sessions for pupils since lockdown began in March.

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