STAFF at Crediton Community Bookshop (CCB) were delighted to be shortlisted for The Prince of Wales’ Award a scheme run by the Devon County Agricultural Association for community organisations, including schools, which are seeking to educate and involve young people in sustainable initiatives.

The team of judges, Lady Arran, the Hon Sarah Lopes, David Parish and Trevor Larcombe, visited the shop and talked to the manager, Dee Lalljee, and committee member Cathie Holden who leads the schools outreach programme.

The Award, which will be presented at the Devon County Show next week, is intended to embrace a wide range of schemes where there has been a genuine attempt to move forward in a resourceful and inventive way to the benefit of a rural community.

Dee and Cathie explained the ways in which CCB works with children, schools and teachers to foster a love of reading. They described their outreach programme which involves taking local authors into schools and running individual sessions for classes where children are introduced to new writers and books. The judges were interested to learn that CCB goes to very small schools across the county as well as working with large secondary schools, in both the state and independent sectors.

As well as promoting social sustainability through reading, CCB is hosting a professional development course for local teachers, where they will get together with tutors and trainee teachers from Exeter University to discuss six children’s books shortlisted for the UK Literacy Association award. CCB staff shared their passion for inspiring children (and adults too) to read for pleasure and to get the reading habit at a young age!