Hamilton pupils at St John's Primary benefit from £400 library donation from housebuilder Lovell

Youngsters received the gift to mark world book day, and were also invited to design their own dream homes

Pupils at a Hamilton school are feeling right at home after receiving a generous donation to kit out their library space.

St John’s Primary were gifted £400 of books to mark world book day, as well as three new beanbags to create cosy reading spots, by housebuilder Lovell who are developing the nearby Glow Garren site.

Youngsters in Primary One to Three also had the chance to win book vouchers by designing their dream home, with representatives from the company visiting to judge a shortlist of the top entries.

The library donation was presented to the school to mark the recent world book day, and St John’s head teacher Alison Hope said: “It’s always an exciting time for our pupils, so these vouchers were greatly appreciated by all the younger pupils.

“Reading is an extremely important part of education at all levels but instilling an interest and passion for books at an early age is a great start for any child as they progress through their educational journey.

“Our pupils were also delighted to be asked by Lovell to come up with ideas to create their very own dream home.”

Teachers from each class picked the top three entries, and Lovell staff visited the school to see their designs and award each child book vouchers ranging from £5 to £15.

Regional managing director Tony Rankin said: “It’s fantastic to see our local schoolchildren so engaged in reading, and their drawings of their dream homes really resonated with us.

“We’re pleased to support the community in Hamilton through encouraging creativity and literacy; our aim is to keep delivering high-quality homes to meet the needs of residents.”

The Glow Garren development, on the site of the former Philips factory, consists of 163 homes – of which 40 will be council houses under South Lanarkshire’s plans to provide 1300 affordable homes by 2027.

Sharon Egan, the local authority’s head of housing, said: “The love of books is a gift that all children should enjoy so I am delighted that Lovell is making sure that pupils at St John’s Primary will be able to use these vouchers to buy books that they will love.

“Thank you to Lovell for helping make world book day even more special this year for the pupils, and the competition to design their own dream home will encourage them to think about what an ideal home means for them.”

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