Club Ambassador and former player Stuart Dallas dropped in at Collingham Lady Elizabeth Hastings Primary School recently to promote reading to the students and make a special presentation for their new school facility.

In cooperation with the government's push to get more children reading at home, one of the parents of a student who lead on the new facility, invited the former Northern Ireland international down to speak with the children about the positive influences reading can have.

Addressing the year groups in the main hall, Dallas took questions from staff and children about his experiences as a footballer and how reading has shaped his career, before headteacher Paul Cook made a special announcement.

With the pupils parents in attendance, student Poppy was then called to the front of the hall to receive a plaque with her name to be placed on the school's brand new 'Book Nook' located in the playground, which also read 'inspired by Poppy's idea to create a special place for children to enjoy reading.'

After breaking her arm last year, Poppy had written to her headteacher to explain that whilst she may enjoy playing with her friends during breaktime, she would also appreciate facilities to sit down and read as a break from the chaos of a primary school playground.

In response to this, the school assembled Poppy's 'Book Nook' in the playground, an indoor area for students to take a seat and read their favourite books, aided by funding from the PTA and the local council who all donated books.

After presenting Poppy with her plaque to be placed on the Book Nook, Stuart then headed outside to cut the ribbon with Poppy and officially open the facility for all students to utilise.

Speaking after the grand unveiling, Stuart said: “I’ve been here at Collingham Primary School today to help open their new Book Nook, which was created by a young student called Poppy who had broken her wrist and at the time didn’t want to be outside playing and she just wanted a place to read her book, so she wrote to the headmaster and asked if they were able to create a reading corner.

“Poppy is leaving this year, so this is a fantastic legacy for her to leave behind, and obviously it just encourages other kids to get involved in reading which I think we all know how important that is, especially at a young age. That’s why I have come down here today, to help encourage them to read more and ensure the kids are educating themselves and I’m sure they’ll absolutely love this new facility they now have.”

Headteacher, Paul Cook, added: “We are really pleased to now have this facility and as Stuart said, it is a lovely legacy to Poppy’s idea that also fits in with our initiative on reading for pleasure around school, encouraging children to read more in their spare time.

“It was great to have Stuart here and he’s been telling everyone about the books he has read and his attitudes towards reading. For the children to hear him talking about reading and to have him as a role model and be able to reference the time they spent with him is really special, and I think it will make them want to read more themselves.”