MAKING sure they have a wide choice of literature is the key to creating a love of reading in children, according to city teachers who have spent hundreds of pounds ensuring their school library is as up to date as possible.

Staff at Redhills Community Primary School also make sure every youngster at the school spends time in the well-stocked facility at least once a week to get them used to the idea of choosing their own books.

The library is at the centre of the school's literacy programme, which this year is set to expand with visits from authors and extra performances from youngsters keen to show off their reading skills.

As in all state schools, literacy forms a key part of the curriculum at Redhills, with an hour a day dedicated to the subject. The focus on reading and writing continues in other subjects, often without children knowing.

For example, teachers will often ask pupils to read aloud and write as much as possible. This means all Redhills pupils have a favourite book or author, even from a young age.

Maegan Skegall, five, said she read for pleasure, as well as to learn.

"I love reading and writing and I can already spell my name. I read at home and at school," she added.

All children in Meagan's class, year one, as well as those who are older, have their reading regularly assessed so they can easily pick out the right books with their parents and teachers.

Maegan is on level seven out of ten, classmate Euan Land is on six and enjoys circus clown books the best while Ellie Sprague likes reading about princesses.

The youngsters are only five but are keen to read as much as they can. In morning break their teacher Candy Rowley uses new technology by putting a talking book on her interactive whiteboard so the class can follow the words while eating their fruit.

The Redhills library now has 6,613 books. Each teacher also keeps some in their classrooms and Mrs Rowley, the school's literacy coordinator, allows children to browse them every day.

"We rigorously test children so we know which level they are at. At this school the ethos is to create a love of books which we do by immersing children in literature," Mrs Rowley said.

"We just want to encourage children to use the library as much as possible and we love parents to bring their youngsters in to see it after school too.

"Pupils take home a book a week, there's plenty of opportunity to read in school and we hope parents will read with them at home too."

Headteacher Jeremy Doyle decided to invest in the library five years ago and since then hundreds of new books have been bought. More are loaned every term from the Devon Library Service depending on the topics taught in lessons.

Sats exam results this summer in Devon shows there is still a big difference between the performance of boys and girls, especially in reading.

At Key Stage One seven per cent more girls got the expected level two than boys in reading, 12 per cent more in writing and three per cent more in maths.

In science, boys performed much better — 91 per cent got level two compared to 92 per cent of girls.

Mrs Rowley said she does not have a problem getting boys interested in literature but finds they tend to read differently — huddled together around a book rather than by themselves.

Children at Devon schools who need more help take part in the Reading Recovery and Every Child a Reader programmes, which provide intensive support.