Luton school celebrates a love of reading

Teamwork has helped a Luton primary school create a library to be proud of.

Parents and teachers at Bushmead Primary School on Bushmead Road, have worked to renovate and improve the original library and create a new library and resources centre.

The whole school rallied together, along with the leadership team and the librarian Mandy Turner, to bring their exciting plans to fruition.

With help of their Parents Teachers Association (PTA) - Friends of Bushmead School (FOBS), they were able to secure grant funding from London Luton Airport’s Small Grants Fund helped by Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, to renovate the lower school library and create a new library for Key Stage 2. FOBS match-funded the grant from proceeds of PTA events organised with the support of the parents’ community.

The original library has been refurbished and school staff have given their time to redecorate and paint it. It is a colourful learning centre for children from Reception to Year 2. The school has also converted two outside classrooms into a new Key Stage 2 library and resources centre. This new library has been named The Miller Hub, in memory of the previous headteacher Alex Miller. His wife, Jill Miller officially opened the Hub this week.

Joanne Travi, Headteacher of Bushmead Primary, said: “Reading is at the heart of everything we do at Bushmead. We envisioned a super modern and engaging environment for our children. I am delighted that we have achieved just that. The new Hub encourages our students to explore and be curious, active and creative learners.

“We are very grateful to Luton Airport and FOBS for their support, we could not have done this without you!”

The new library now holds a wider selection of books and more computers are available for research. The librarian runs an after school learning club for pupils. Students can also use the KS2 library for accelerated reader quizzes and reading at lunchtimes. There is also a delightful reading garden which is proving popular with the children.

Teona, a year 4 student, said: “The new library has lots of lovely books. There are nice seats and it is colourful. I like reading a lot and I can go there at lunchtime.”

Chris Tucker, Leader of Year 4, added: “It's a more holistic learning zone for children. We hope The Miller Hub will foster a love of reading.”