Young Saltney bookworms visit Airbus to celebrate World Book Day

Pupils from Saltney Ferry Primary School celebrated this year’s World Book Day with a special visit to Airbus in Broughton, where they took part in a fun-filled afternoon of reading and colouring with Airbus employees.

The 14 young bookworms arrived dressed up as their favourite book characters and brought their own books along to the session. They were met by a team of Airbus employees who gave up their time to help improve reading standards among children in their local community.

Some of the employees are regular volunteers on Airbus’ Right to Read programme, which pairs youngsters from schools such as Saltney Ferry Primary School with Airbus ‘reading buddies’.

Charlotte Luke, Headteacher at Saltney Ferry Primary School, said:

“It is fantastic to be able to promote to the children the importance of reading, and the fact that Airbus employees have been willing to give up their time to listen to the children read is something we really appreciate.

The highlight for me was seeing the delight on our pupils’ faces as they read with volunteers and learned more about Airbus.”

Jonty Palfrey, an Airbus employee who volunteered at the event, said:

“This was a wonderful opportunity to get to know our community and share my love of reading with the local kids. It was nice to show them that the aeroplanes that take them on holidays do have a face when it comes to supporting our local community.”

Jayne Harvey from Airbus and Harry Nichols from Saltney Ferry CP School who visited the Broughton plant along with other youngsters to mark World Book Day

World Book Day is an annual worldwide celebration of books and reading, marked in over 100 countries all over the world. In the UK, the main aim is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

Airbus in the UK supports projects involving schools throughout the region, with youth development and education being among the core strands at the heart of the company’s community engagement policy.

Airbus also backs education projects such as the School Orchard Project with the North Wales Wildlife Trust and the first ever Airbus Foundation Flying Challenge programme in Wales.