To mark World Book Day 2024, the Premier League are giving away more than 50,000 free books to children across England and Wales through its Premier League Primary Stars education programme.
Derby County Community Trust is one of 100 professional football club community organisations across England and Wales to give away the free books to local primary schools, with 250 books being gifted to local primary schools in Derby as part of their Premier League Primary Stars delivery.
This year's activation for World Book Day saw players from Derby County's first team squad make a surprise visit to Ashwood Spencer Academy.
Goalkeeper Josh Vickers and striker Conor Washington handed out the books and joined in a lesson all about the difference between facts and opinions in reading material. They engaged in classroom activities before signing autographs and handing out the books in a special assembly, with Years 3 to 6.
Ed Garnett, Schools Coaching Lead at Derby County Community Trust, said: “We're proud to be celebrating World Book Day by making a direct impact in schools. We're very grateful for the books and it is always a pleasure to help get young people of Derby reading and enjoying books.
“Having Josh Vickers and Conor Washington join us was great and made all the students' day. We've also hosted an online national World Book Day quiz with National Literacy Trust, so lots of our schools across the network have been able to take part.”
Since Premier League Primary Stars began in 2017, more than 300,000 free books have been gifted to young people with an estimated value of £2.4million, thanks to the education programme’s partnership with the National Literacy Trust.
Launched in 2017 and available to every primary school in England and Wales, Premier League Primary Stars uses the appeal of football to help children to be active and develop essential life skills.
World Book Day promotes reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own as according to National Literacy Trust research, children who own their own books are much more likely to enjoy reading, read daily and read to relax.
To find out more about Derby County Community Trust’s work in schools, please head to derbycountycommunitytrust.com.