A SCHOOL librarian said students' are reading five times as many books to three years ago after the implementation of a revolutionary new scheme.

'Those who read succeed' is the motto of St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy library, where, in the last three years, the number of people checking out books has increased dramatically.

Emma Suffield, from Chorley has been the librarian at St Wilfrid’s since 2014, and has witnessed first hand the surge of interest which has seen the number of books being checked out go from 2,345 in 2014 to 10,564 in 2017.

Ms Suffield said: “We have queues of people coming in at lunch time.

“They are eager to take books out, they are passionate about what they’re reading and they are respecting the library.”

The 32-year-old believes the increase was due to the introduction of the Accelerated Reader programme, which encourages students to read more.

The scheme was introduced in 2014 by Ms Suffield and leading literacy co-ordinator Gwen Rees.

The programme, which supports students to increase their ability through daily reading activities, has been a hit with both students and parents as it has been proven to improve exam results.

Ms Suffield said: “It has been shown that reading will improve their grades.

“Exam questions are becoming more complex, so by increasing their reading level they are bettering their vocabulary so they are more likely to understanding the exam questions.”

Ms Suffield has also introduced a number of reading based activities, including Harry Potter events, days dedicated to the student’s favourite authors and book clubs which have played a big part in the student’s new found love for literature.

She hopes to see the trend continue next year when she plans to introduce more activities and clubs, she said:

“It’s getting to the point where I’m having to to turn people away from the groups because they’re so busy.

“I don’t want to do that, everyone should have access to a book group”.

She is also planning to create an equality display, to let pupils know that everyone is welcome in the library which she hopes will encourage pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to get involved.

“We want to get the message across that reading is fun and a can be a great hobby, but it’s also useful.

“Those who read succeed.”