A SCHOOL looking to enlighten children about the delights of reading needs support to stock its library.

Windale Primary School in Blackbird Leys is appealing for a local business to help replenish its library shelves, on the condition that pupils meet reading targets.

It hopes the incentive will encourage youngsters to pick up their books and boost the number and range of titles available in the school library.

The move is part of a wider initiative to excite pupils about reading, after the 340-pupil school partnered up with children's book review website toppsta.com.

Windale's deputy headteacher Matt Cuttle said: "The focus from Toppsta is to make reading fun, as this empowers children to be lifelong learners.

"It would be amazing if we could find a company to support this work by providing funds for more books for the school library, and to give away as prizes to every pupil that writes a great book review.

"We want to reward reading with more books to read - supporting the idea that reading is a reward in itself."

Toppsta has already provided the school with 400 'reading records' to monitor pupils' reading progress, and set up fun competitions to encourage pupils to read.

The website's founder Georgina Atwell, who lives in Summertown, said: "It's about getting free resources out to schools to focus on reading for pleasure, beyond the reading they have to do.

"[We should] celebrate reading and shine a light on bookworms, and get kids excited about reading.

"Reading can bring escape from daily troubles and give quiet time.

"Children who read for pleasure will read for life and use all the different parts of their brain, for empathy and predicting stories, creativity and imagination.

"Research suggests people who read are a lot more successful in life academically and have more choice when choosing what they want to do with their lives."

The reading enthusiast said libraries and buying new books can often get 'pushed down the bottom of the list' when schools have to reassess budget priorities.

She added: "Sometimes a library is seen as non-essential, but I say it is essential in terms of happiness, wellbeing and development in lots of areas of school life."

The mother-of-two said Oxford offers a 'rich environment' in which to encourage reading, with its links to literary legends and home to organisations such as reading charity ARCh.

Windale is looking for a business to provide sponsorship money solely for new books, if pupils reach various reading milestones during the academic year.

All new books would be bought in Mostly Books in Abingdon, in support of independent bookstores.

Anyone who can help can ring the school by calling 01865 777796.