Ealing Broadway has welcomed more than 240 school children from West Acton Primary School, West Twyford Primary School and St John's Primary School for a poetry session, aimed at helping them fall in love with reading.

The event allowed children to listen to poems from professional storyteller Cecilia Knapp as part of the Young Readers Programme, an award-winning initiative sponsored by Ealing Broadway's owner British Land and run-in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, designed to encourage children to read outside of the classroom.

Cecilia Knapp is a poet, playwright and novelist and was the Young People's Laureate for London 2020/2021. She was shortlisted for the 2022 Forward prize for best single poem and was the winner of the 2021 Ruth Rendell award. She has been also shortlisted for both the Rebecca Swift Women's prize and the Outspoken poetry prize. Cecilia teaches creative writing in a variety of settings. She was resident poet at Great Ormond Street Hospital for two years and is lead tutor for the Roundhouse's prestigious poetry collective. 

During the literacy-focussed event, pupils also took part in a range of fun activities with a variety of retailers and organisations based at Ealing Broadway, including Decathlon, Waterstones and Ealing Central Library. They were also able to take home a book of their choice.

This marks the twelfth year of British Land's partnership with the National Literacy Trust, and since the programme launched at Ealing Broadway, it has supported more than 2,500 school children and seen nearly 7,700 books donated across Ealing.

Research by the National Literacy Trust has shown that owning a book means children are more likely to say they enjoy reading and are more inclined to read in their free time. However, 6.5% of children in the UK do not own a book, which equates to half a million children across the country*. This rises to one in 10 (9.7%) children from disadvantaged backgrounds, which is the demographic this partnership aims to reach.

With reading for enjoyment proven to have a positive effect on children's reading skill* as well as their wellbeing and mental health, the Young Readers Programme initiative aims to give support and help with the development of children in under privileged areas by giving them access to books.

Andrew Rollings, centre director at Ealing Broadway, said: "Supporting our community is very important to us, so we're incredibly proud of the Young Readers Programme and all the local children and families we've been able to support in the last 10 years.

"It was brilliant to welcome the children from West Acton Primary School, West Twyford Primary School and St John's Primary School to the centre. It's always very rewarding to see how the children are inspired by the stories they hear and start to get excited about reading and bringing their own books home."

Martin Galway, Head of School Programmes at the National Literacy Trust, said: "The right book, at the right moment, can change a child's life.

"That's what the Young Readers Programme has been doing with British Land for the last 12 years – giving children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to experience enchanting story-telling events, and to choose books that speak to their interests and passions.

"Our goal is to spark a love of reading that will last them a lifetime, which in turn will empower them with the literacy skills they need to succeed."