More than 100 schoolchildren have visited a library in Ipswich in a bid to improve educational attainment and literacy skills.

A group of children from Springfield Infant and Nursery School, in Ipswich, enjoyed a tour of Westbourne Library as part of a partnership project to get as many pupils as possible signed up to the library.

More than 100 children have signed up so far, receiving new library cards and embarking on a tour of the library.

Sophie Green, library manager at Westbourne Library, said: “We were speaking to one of the teachers about the benefits of her class joining the library prior to the visit and she suggested we get the whole school signed up.

“We hope the visits will help to give the children a fun experience of the library and they can choose and take books away with their new cards.”

She went on to add: “We are finding that many of their parents are not currently library users so it is helping to remind families that we’re here and what the library has to offer them.

“Everyone at the school has been very keen on the project and we all know that regular library use from an early age has significant benefits to a child’s literacy skills and can help their educational achievements later on.”

Kelly Head, headteacher of Springfield Infant and Nursery School, said it was an important event, ading: “Our key priority this year is to develop a love of reading in our children.

“By visiting the library we can enrich their understanding of this important resource in their community and begin their lifelong journey of reading for pleasure.”