A fairy tale has come true for pupils at a local primary school after they won hundreds of pounds of new books in one of the biggest campaigns in the history of the WHT.

Our Books for Schools initiative, sponsored by ONE Welwyn Hatfield, saw Codicote Primary School walk away with £1,000 worth of new titles after collecting the most tokens in our special promotion.

Headteacher Liz Pollard said: "The quality of books is quite outstanding. The children can’t wait to read them! We are delighted to see the wide range of genre, and such engaging books. We are very grateful to both the Welwyn and Hatfield Times, and to the people who made the book selection.

"The School Council has recently been responsible for leading a project to widen the range of books available to all children, and the new titles have ticked every box. Everyone is excited to get reading these beautiful books!"

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Pupils at Codicote Primary School have received £1,000 worth of new books from the WHT.Pupils at Codicote Primary School have received £1,000 worth of new books from the WHT. (Image: Codicote Primary School)

Year 5 pupil Mia added: "There will always be a book for someone to choose, whatever they like reading about."

WHT editor Matt Adams said: "Reading is something we as a newspaper want to encourage children to enjoy from a young age, as they will be our audience of the future, and this initiative is a great way to seed that passion through books. We're so pleased to present these books to the children at Codicote Primary - happy reading!"

Leader of WHBC, Cllr Tony Kingsbury said: “We were really happy to support this Books for Schools initiative through our ONE Welwyn Hatfield website – the place to go to find out what’s on near you. Aside from the educational benefits of reading, it’s also great fun! We’re delighted that so many schools have benefitted from the scheme. Well done to the winners!"

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Pupils at Codicote Primary School have received £1,000 worth of new books from the WHT.Pupils at Codicote Primary School have received £1,000 worth of new books from the WHT. (Image: Codicote Primary School)

The Mayor of Welwyn Hatfield, Cllr Peter Hebden, added: “A good book has the ability to transport you to another place and time or expand your knowledge on a favourite topic, so it was a pleasure to be involved in this campaign. Congratulations to all the schools who took part. We hope it's had a positive impact on your pupils and they’re enjoying their new books.”