OVER 260 school children took part in a series of interactive events that encourage reading.

Orbital Shopping Park was visited by students from Oliver Tomkins C of E Infant School and Oak Tree Primary School.

They enjoyed the storytelling sessions, a behind the scenes tour of the centre and when they left they had a free book in hand to take home.

Orbital gave £100 vouchers to each of the schools to spend on new books for the libraries.

Rachel Jones, from Oliver Tomkins said: “The Young Readers Programme is a fantastic initiative and has really helped motivate the children to read more. A love of reading is something that can last a lifetime. It’s a great way for children to learn new things and fire their imagination, so anything that inspires them to open a book more often is amazing.”