A FORMER storage cupboard has been transformed into a new library at Lethbridge Primary School.

The facility - a first for the school - was opened this week after more than a year of fundraising by the school and the Friends of Lethbridge.

An Usborne reading challenge over the summer raised £4,500 and the friends group, made up of parents and teachers, managed to generate a further £10,000 to transform the cupboard into a resource filled with children’s books.

Parent and chairman of the friends, Rhia Walega told the Advertiser: “Everything has been leading up to this, all the fundraising we organised, like the fun run in June, and slowly it has been transformed into a functional room.

“Now the kids can choose a book and read it for enjoyment’s sake. We have tried to make it as child-friendly as possible.

“Our approach at the Friends of Lethbridge is to enhance the children’s education so this is the best way we can do that,” she explained.

“Books will always be a required resource, we are just so excited, it’s lovely to stand in here.”

The library already contains more than 2,000 books of all kinds for the children to read in their lunch breaks.

Before it opened, the school only had book cases in each classroom, with no dedicated area for children to sit and read in peace.

Caron Short, the school’s deputy head, added: “We are thrilled to have a working library again. Keeping a precious space for books is really important. It just shows what you can do. This is a library that 490 children will be able to use to read for pleasure.

She added: “When you open a book it’s like opening a door to a small world, it’s lovely to see them choose lots of books they wouldn’t normally have.

Local children’s author and illustrator Steve Antony was on hand to give a talk to the pupils at a special assembly before the library was officially opened. He said: “It’s a place where the children can be inspired, and it’s also a safe space, a place you can retreat to.”