Books flow onto shelves at Peterborough school thanks to Anglian Water

Books have started to flow onto the shelves at a Peterborough school, thanks to Anglian Water.

Anglian Water has teamed up with Bookmark Reading Charity to leave a literacy legacy alongside its new multi-million-pound water main network.

Thousands of books have been donated to 11 schools - including Middleton Primary in Peterborough – close to the route of the water company’s flagship project – hundreds of kilometres of underground, interconnecting pipelines, stretching from North Lincolnshire to Essex.

The new pipelines will move water from wetter to drier areas of the region.

In addition to the books, Anglian Water staff will work alongside children as reading volunteers and help create ‘story corners’ to give youngsters a space to read as part of their partnership with Bookmark Reading Charity.

A trio of the water company’s workers – Alexandra Ismay, Colin Wilkinson and Charlotte Turner – visited Middleton Primary to deliver the books in person and spend time with pupils.

Alexandra said: “We joined forces with Bookmark during the Covid-19 pandemic and set up several online reading sessions with children.

“We hope now to build on our partnership and continue deliver a literacy legacy while also educating children about our work and the wider water industry.

“Our new pipe network is improving the region as a whole and the work with Bookmark will help us give even more value to the communities we serve.”

Emily Jack, Head of Schools at Bookmark, said: “Bookmark Reading Charity is very excited about this partnership; it is wonderful to be delivering key services and resources to both new

and existing schools within our network.

“Working closely with Anglian Water we hope that high-quality diverse books, and other resources, will inspire children to read and bring added life to their schools’ reading spaces.

“We are very grateful to Anglian Water for their support and look forward to both strengthening this partnership and exploring other ways to support children with their reading enjoyment,

skills and confidence.”

Headteacher Alma McGonigle said: “We're delighted with our new books and the partnership we’ve formed with Bookmark and Anglian Water. It will help our children build their enthusiasm for reading and develop a better understanding of the environment around them, in particular the importance of fresh, clean water.”

Without the new pipelines, which are transferring water from the wetter areas to the drier, future droughts are predicted as demand for water outstrips supply. Construction work began in 2021 and is expected to finish in 2025.

Colin Wilkinson, who is overseeing construction of the new water main network across Lincolnshire, said: “Last summer’s heatwave highlighted the importance of our work, which will and keep

fresh, clean water flowing into homes and businesses across the east of England while helping to futureproof the region against water shortages. 

“Without the new water main grid, parts of the region could run out of water as soon as 2030 so the importance of our work really cannot be underestimated.”