The team of five held fundraising events including a bake sale, litter picking and a sports day
The fundraising school children in their new reading corner at St Mary’s in Beverley(Image: St Mary’s School)
Children at a Beverley school have been fundraising champions to help raise more than £500 to create a special new reading corner. The five Year 6 pupils from St Mary’s School organised all manner of events including a bake sale, litter picking, a sports day at the local park, supporting Beverley Fire Station and running a school tuck shop.
They carried out the fundraising as part of their Lifestyle Project, which is also perfectly timed for the National Year of Reading 2026. Their efforts raised £230, which was generously added-to by local modular construction firm Baúkasten, bringing the total to £525.
The reading corner features two beanbags, a selection of BooksforBugs Key Stage 2 reading books, a set of dyslexia pens, two Kindles and four sets of headphones – creating an inviting space to inspire young readers.
“We had so much fun helping our community and are pleased to give something back to our school,” said the Year 6 team. “The reading corner will help everyone enjoy books even more.”
Adam Millikin, managing director of Baúkasten, said: “It’s a joy to provide these extra items for St Mary’s reading corner. Reading is so important for expanding young minds and imaginations – who knows, we may even encourage some future authors amongst these brilliant girls.”
Laura Wallis, headteacher from St Mary’s, added: “We are so proud of the children and are delighted that they have worked so hard and shown such commitment to enhancing our reading provision. Reading is such an important part of school life at St Mary’s and it is wonderful that we now have some fantastic new resources to make reading even more accessible and enjoyable for the children.”
The school fundraiser comes as the “must-read” children’s books of the year have been announced, on the shortlist for the 19th James Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award. Children from schools around the city will receive a delivery of newly-published books and will also be given the chance to meet their authors.
Meanwhile, the St Mary’s project aligns with the Government’s National Year of Reading 2026 campaign, which aims to reignite a love of reading among children and young people, at a time when reading for pleasure has declined sharply. Baúkasten’s donation demonstrates local business commitment to supporting education and literacy in the community.
A key report from the National Literacy Trust showed that in 2025 only one in three (32.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said they enjoyed reading in their free time, the lowest level recorded since the NLT began its survey in 2005.
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