ST JOHN’S Primary School in Warminster unveiled their new outside reading area with help from Bradford on Avon illustrator and author M.P. Robertson earlier this week.

The area, comprising of benches with tables and a little wooden hut, was installed at the beginning of the month after £3,500 was raised by the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, the Family Tree.

Mr Robertson, who held drawing lessons with pupils throughout the day, said: “I come from a very working class background and me and my dad would always have a trip to the library every two weeks.

“It was a tradition and that was where we got books and it’s important that parents still use libraries with their children.

“If you don’t want to be out running around this area is perfect to pick a book up and come and read.

“Books can raise you up a little bit and can inspire children.”

Plans are already in motion to add cushions and soft play items to the new area, which headteacher Lyn Taylor hopes will encourage more children to pick up a book and read.

She said: “The idea is that our library is in the corridor so the reading area just becomes an extension of that.

“It’s really important at this early age to get children reading and create a love of books that they can carry on through their lives.”