The government's message about reading for pleasure (RfP) is driving schools to spend more on books, say independent booksellers. Marilyn Brocklehurst of the Norfolk Children's Book Centre said: "Schools are definitely aware that Ofsted is now looking for evidence of RfP policies."
The centre has been asked to update five school libraries during the Easter break. "This is a very unusual level of activity, and we saw the same thing happen at Christmas as well," said Brocklehurst. "The schools are aware of the changes."
At Newham Books in London, bookseller John Newman said: "We had one school come in and buy 980 copies of The Hunger Games to get students and staff reading. We've also been doing more primary events than ever before and those are leading on to strong book sales." Some schools in the area have budgeted up to £6,000 for new library stock and are bringing children to the shop to choose the books they like to read, he added.
A number of schools in Brighton are adopting "Drop Everything and Read" programmes, said Vanessa Lewis at The Book Nook. "We have had a lot of schools asking us to focus on reading for pleasure as part of their book selections, and the level of business has been much higher than usual."