Former captain of the Women’s England Rugby Team, Catherine Spencer, has called for schools and families to take advantage of one of the biggest book clubs in the county.

Rugby star Catherine is tackling child literacy by backing the Buster’s Book Club scheme, run by the KM Charity Team. The sports legend and founder of Inspiring Women hopes that schools and families will join in the fun and develop a love of books to last a lifetime.

She said: “I hope schools sign up to Buster’s Book Club this term because the scheme has been a terrific success at helping pupils to associate reading with having fun. Classrooms are buzzing with excited children comparing how much time each of them has spent reading and talking about their books. Crucially, the scheme also offers families an easy way to get involved with and support their children’s reading and enjoyment of books.”

Catherine will also provide a story time session this academic year as a prize to the school coming top in a county-wide challenge to be top or most improved with their reading.

Charlotte Hayes of Buster’s Book Club said: “We are so happy to have Catherine’s support and look forward to welcoming more schools to the Buster’s Book Club family. Last academic year, 26,000 children collectively achieved a record seven and a half million minutes of reading – an astonishing achievement that blew their one million target out of the water. Children really do get the reading bug!”

Buster’s Book Club encourages children and families to spend more time reading for pleasure at home. Each child is given a home reading target of a set number of minutes and then takes part in a series of challenges – including inter-class and inter-school - to enthuse them to meet or exceed their target. Competition prizes include tickets to leisure attractions, hampers of books, and celebrity storyteller visits.

The project is supported by Orbit, Golding Vision, Kent Libraries, Leeds Castle, Kent County Council, Medway Council, London Borough of Bexley, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Kent Reliance, Whitefriars, Specsavers, Eurostar, and Bel UK.

For more information or to sign up, visit www.bustersbookclub.co.uk or contact Charlotte Hayes at chayes@thekmgroup.co.uk or on 0844 264 0291.