World Book Day turns into a week for children at a Banburyshire primary school

The school is still celebrating receipt of a letter from the Minister of State for Schools telling them the Key Stage 2 pupils had achieved 100 per cent in their reading assessments - taking the school into the top one per cent in the country.

This week the focus on books and reading has continued with a visit from two authors - including Culworth's own school secretary, Rebecca Boasman who has written a children's book. Ms Boasman ran a session with the children, helping them create their own characters for stories and learn how to develop their ideas.

Pupils also enjoyed creating a 'book in a jar' for a special competition based on a theme of their best books.

Like many other schools, teachers and children at Culworth will be dressing up as their favourite characters from literature on Thursday to mark World Book Day.

Head teacher for Culworth and Boddington primary schools, Oliver Johnson said: "Reading is a hugely important part of children's lives and in school we have been working really hard to ensure that all of our children have the opportunity to read for enjoyment within our curriculum and that we run as many initiatives as we can to help children improve their reading skills.

"This week in school, with World Book Day on Thursday, has been dedicated to activities focused around reading and developing a love for it.

"Our recent Ofsted inspection found that reading 'is at the core of the curriculum throughout the school' and that as a school, we prioritise children's reading. In addition to these comments from Ofsted, we were contacted by the education minister for praise on our outcomes in children's reading being in the top one per cent of the country. Without a love of books, first and foremost, these achievements would not be possible. The work that everyone in our school community does to this end is incredible," said Mr Johnson.

Education Minister Nick Gibb told the school: "The Government wants to ensure that every child has the fluency in reading necessary to prepare them for a successful secondary education and beyond, which is why I was delighted to see your results."