Five schools won £1,000/€1,000 to rebuild their libraries this autumn

Find out which lucky schools won our big prize draw!

This summer, we gave you the chance to nominate your school to win £1,000/€1,000 in National Book Tokens, with one overall winner also receiving £500/€500 to upgrade their library space. Thousands of people across the UK and Ireland voted. Now it's time to meet the winning schools!

Win £1000 for your school

Congratulations to our winners... and thank you to everyone who voted!

We gave schools across the UK and Ireland the chance to win £1,000/€1,000 in National Book Tokens and a year’s free membership to the School Library Association so they could encourage reading for pleasure for all their students.

Congratulations to our five winners: Baldragon Academy (Dundee), Astrea Academy (Doncaster), Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna (Dublin), Kingsbury Green Academy (Wiltshire) and Malmesbury Primary School (Tower Hamlets). Find out more about the winning schools below!

The winning entrants – who included school staff, parents and members of the schools' local communities – each won a £100/€120 National Book Token to spend in their favourite bookshop.  

Did you know that 1 in 5 children don’t have a book at home?* In fact, 1 in 7 primary schools have no library space at all – that's more than 750,000 children. And where there is a library space, our friends at the charity Read for Good have found that this is often woefully inadequate, with books that are unappealing and outdated. Children facing poverty, who need these school libraries the most, are most likely to be missing out.

We were proud to bring this prize draw to you for the third year in association with Read for Good, offering schools across the UK and Ireland the chance to rebuild their libraries.

*1 in 5 children in England between the ages of 5 and 8. National Literacy Trust (2022).

Baldragon Academy

Baldragon Academy, Dundee

Overall Winner

In addition to National Book Tokens galore and membership to the School Library Association, our overall winner received £500 to improve their library space. Marie Duley, the school's librarian, said:

"Thank you so much to National Book Tokens for this fantastic prize. It’s such an amazing gift and we are already asking our pupils, especially our new S1 pupils, what books they would like us to buy for their classrooms and school library which will help support us working towards being a Scottish Book Trust Reading School."

Astrea Academy Woodfields

Astrea Academy Woodfields, Doncaster

"Our library now has books that will ignite a passion in our scholars for reading. From books aimed at young adults, to graphic novels, to those penned by authors from a range of backgrounds; our children will find themselves represented in our library. We read over 10,000 words a day at school and read whole novels at the end of the school day, this investment in our school will encourage our scholars to read over their whole lifetime."

David Scales, Principal

Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna

Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, Dublin

"Winning the National Book Tokens Prize means so much to us. We are opening our new library in our school in mid-October. This will be the first library in our new school building. With this fantastic prize, we will be able to stock the library with new books that are appealing to our young readers. They will also be available for all our students for many years. Go raibh maith agaibh! Thank you so much!”

Cárthaigh Ó Cuill, Príomhoide/Principal

 

Malmesbury Primary School

Malmesbury Primary School, Tower Hamlets, London

"Reading is a pleasure at Malmesbury. From our weekly family reading breakfasts, to pop-up theme libraries, reading with younger children and special days:  we promote and celebrate reading.  We read every day.... it's the Malmesbury way!"

Claire Stewart, Headteacher

Kingsbury Green Academy, Wiltshire

"I can't wait to purchase some fabulous new books for our wonderful library."

Lynnsey Thornton, School Librarian

Read for GoodRead for Good and National Book Tokens have worked in partnership for many years, bringing the joy of being able to choose and keep a book to thousands of children.

  • Thousands of schools run Readathon® because it's a proven, fun way to get pupils reading for pleasure. Money raised through Readathon supports Read for Good's hospital programme, bringing the magic of books and stories to children in hospitals across the UK.
  • Explore the wonderful world of books through our Reading Journey posters – created to appeal to pupils who are not sure what they’d like to read
  • Apply for one of Read for Good’s Brilliant Box of Books, helping schools and community settings in need get a boost of books!
  • Get reading inspiration from their Books We Love page - ideal if you’re buying new books for your school.
  • And for more reading resources go to readforgood.org and sign up to Read for Good's termly newsletter to find out about free author events, book giveaways and more!

National Book Tokens gift cardsNational Book Tokens have inspired booklovers for more than 90 years, empowering readers to choose just the right books for them. National Book Tokens gift cards are accepted in hundreds of bookshops across the UK and Ireland, and online.

Available to purchase in bookshops, supermarkets, or online – including personalised and e-gift cards, and Bookily – there are designs for booklovers of all ages and for all occasions. National Book Tokens gift cards are produced on FSC-certified card, have an expiry of 8 years from last use, and expired cards can be replaced.

Find out how National Book Tokens can be used to reward, inspire and incentivise children and students.

Rewards for education

Previous schools prize winners2023

  • St John's and St Peter's Academy, Birmingham 
  • North Huddersfield Trust School, Huddersfield
  • Scoil Bhríde Lann Léire, Co. Louth 
  • Sporle C of E Primary Academy, Norfolk 
  • Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn, Llandudno 

2022

  • Archbishop Temple Church of England High School, Lancashire
  • Batley Girls' High School, West Yorkshire 
  • Finn Valley College, Donegal
  • Hanslope Primary School, Milton Keynes 
  • Star of the Sea RC Primary School, Tyne and Wear

Prizes:

Five winning schools will each receive:

  • £1,000/€1,000 of National Book Tokens gift cards
  • A one-year annual membership of the School Library Association

One of the above winning schools will be randomly picked to receive a £500/€500 cash prize

1 x £100/€120 National Book Tokens gift card will be awarded to each of the five entrants whose nominations are picked

  • By entering this competition, you also agree to our website terms and conditions.  
  • No purchase necessary.
  • Opening date: Tuesday 4th June 2024.
  • Closing date: 11:59pm, Wednesday 31st July 2024.
  • Only one entry per person will be accepted.
  • Entrants must be aged 16 or over.
  • Entrants may not win more than one prize, but multiple entrants may nominate the same school. 
  • For the purposes of this prize draw a 'school' is defined as any public sector or independent primary, post-primary, middle or secondary school, sixth form college, special school, or pupil referral unit, in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and the Republic of Ireland.
  • Early Years settings, including private nurseries and preschools, and home educators, are not eligible to win.
  • The prizes are non-transferable and subject to availability, and there are no cash alternatives.
  • The Promoter reserves the right to amend the specification of the prize or offer an alternative prize. In exceptional circumstances, the Promoter reserves the right to foreclose the competition without notice.
  • The cost of one annual membership to the School Library Association (SLA) will be reimbursed to each winning school by Book Tokens Ltd. upon receipt of an invoice, which must be received within three months of the announcement of the winning schools. If a winning school is already a member of the SLA at the time the announcement is made, Book Tokens Ltd. will reimburse the school for the value of a year's membership upon receipt of an invoice within one month of the announcement. 
  • The overall prize of £500/€500 cash will be paid into the school's bank account or building society.
  • The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and Republic of Ireland except employees of the Booksellers Association, Book Tokens Ltd., Read for Good, their families, employees of participating bookshops, and anyone else connected with this promotion.
  • Entrants must be aged 16 or over.
  • Entrants agree to the Promoter using their details in post-competition publicity. Your details will not be used for any other purpose, or passed onto any third parties, unless specified. Winners’ details may be shared securely with a third-party in order to fulfil the dispatch of competition prizes.
  • We will contact winners by email. In the event of a winner not responding after 14 days, we reserve the right to allocate the prize to another winner, or foreclose the prize. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
  • We will contact the named entrant to confirm the name and address of the school to ensure it is correct. 
  • National Book Tokens gift cards can be spent at any participating bookshop
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for entries that are incomplete, illegible, incorrect, corrupted or fail to reach the Promoter by the closing date for any reason. Automatically generated entries or entries via third parties are invalid and shall not be considered.
  • The Promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • The Promoter will only use your email address and other personal information as outlined in our privacy policy.
  • Promoter: Book Tokens Ltd, 6 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR.

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