Young bookworms enjoyed a trip out to Waterstones to choose a selection of books for their school's reading corner.

The first class Devonshire Road Primary school pupils spent part of the morning in the town centre book shop as a reward for their love of reading.

Hajrah Aslam, 10, Aaliyah Sunni,11, Imogen Feng,10, and Aisha Akuji ,10, handpicked their favourite type of books in a bid to inspire others to follow their example.

Teacher and vice-principal Tom Abraham said: “The children that we’ve brought here are just exemplary.

“We have a set of reading challenges throughout the school, from bronze up to platinum.

Aaliyah, Hajrah, Aisha and Imogen

“These children have completed the platinum award three times each, which when you add it all together, equates to about 150 books that they’ve read in the last three years.”

Aaliyah said: “We’ve read a lot of books in our primary school so we’ve been chosen to come to Waterstones to pick a different range of books for our school to go in the book corner.”

She said that her favourite kinds of books are murder mysteries.

Aisha, whose favourite books are the Hunger Games series, said: “It’s something that you can get lost in and you can travel to different places – it’s just really nice.”

Imogen prefers classics, like books by Hans Christian Andersen.

Hajrah said: “It’s interesting and there’s different types of books – it’s just really relaxing!”

She said her favourite books are the Pages and Co series by Anna James.

The books that they choose will be displayed in the year six corridor, for all pupils to read.

Mr Abraham said: “This is just sort of a way of recognising their achievements and giving them a chance to create something for the rest of the children to sort of aspire to.

“It’s almost like a bit of a legacy.”

The number of children reading for pleasure nationally has fallen in recent years according to research by the National Literacy Trust, but Mr Abraham said this is not the case in Devonshire Road.

Mr Abraham said: “Not at our school, we have a really good way of motivating the children.

“They have certificates, they have rewards that they can earn.

“We have a diverse mix of children that come – we’re talking anywhere between 35 and 40 per cent of our children have English as an additional language.

“So that’s why we think it’s so important to develop their vocab.

“Reading technology, possibly, has changed the way children read – but there’s nothing better than coming and actually choosing the books.

“It’s a good little trip out for them and they get the morning out of school as well.”