Books are beneficial

The beneficial effects of bombarding young children with books has been demonstrated at Woodberry Down Community Primary in Finsbury Park, in one of the poorest areas of London. The school was in serious weaknesses in 2003. By 2005 it was on Ofsted's list of outstanding schools.

Last year 4 out of 5 pupils reached level 4 in English, despite the fact that half the pupils do not speak English at home. Greg Wallace, the headteacher, puts the children's success in English down to synthetic phonics and instilling a love of reading. "There are some experiences in life we can only ever get from books. Books help by opening up all these different worlds to children, giving them inspiration and allowing them to meet people who they would never meet in real life."

The school's book budget is £20000 a year and every classroom has its own library.