07/11/2025
What an achievement by Team Library :)
What a journey ‘Team Library’ have been on at Lionwood Infant School. From a small acorn of an idea from founder Anna Storrs that the school needed a library to be proud of, to having a celebration day last week where they managed to get acting legend Larry Lamb to come down and read a story to the children in their newly refurbished library. It’s not been easy; this is a story of where determination to a cause can ultimately get you. But this story certainly isn’t over, and they need your help to make sure there is a long-term, sustainable happy ending.
Back in 2024, we wrote an article marking the first anniversary of the Lionwood Infant School Library Fund project, a charity set up by local parent and GP Dr Anna Storrs after her epiphany that the school needed a dedicated library space. On my visit to the school, I met Anna, along with Claire Bolster, two parents brimming with passion and eagerness to tell me all about Team Library. There was nothing that was going to stop these amazing volunteers from achieving their goal: every school should have a library bursting with high-quality books to create the building blocks for a lifelong love of reading. Any parent or teacher out there will tell you about the struggle to get children to read. Books have more competition for time and attention than ever before. To try and raise the reading culture at Lionwood, Anna and her team had started a fundraising mission to transform an unused classroom into a special library space. In October 2024, the Team had raised an incredible £1,250. After famous author Nick Butterworth had kindly donated his time and money to the project during a cheese and wine auction event, the total was boosted by over £2,000 in one evening! Roll on November 2025, and Team Library have now raised a staggering £20,000 with fundraising and grants combined.
To mark this community fundraising milestone, Team Library invited children from Year 2 and their families to come along to a special celebration event on the 31st of October, where the Head of School, Mrs Selene Sawyer, set up a pumpkin treasure hunt for the children, along with craft activities and cake! The proverbial icing was provided by actor Larry Lamb, who was in town for the Norwich Book Festival to promote his debut novel 'All Wrapped Up'. EastEnders and Gavin & Stacey fans will need no introduction to Larry Lamb. After the treasure hunt, the children were treated to a story, ‘The Lion and Albert’, from Larry in the newly refurbished library. A wonderful new storyteller chair, beautifully crafted by Norwich Mens Shed, took pride of place and gave Larry a worthy home. After his reading, Larry took the time to chat with the children and their families and also signed copies of his new book - sales of which were generously donated to the Lionwood Library Fund. In total, this celebration event raised over £200 through book sales and donations on the day.
Larry commented, “It has been a privilege to be part of this event and showcase the remarkable efforts of the team. It’s a really important project and will without a doubt benefit the community.”
Founder Anna gleefully beamed, “We are so proud of what we have achieved. It has been hard work, and we have lots more to do as we want the library to last and change with the community. Seeing the excitement of the children today has been really special. We are sure they will benefit hugely from the space.”
Claire Bolster couldn’t agree more, “I’m incredibly proud of Team Library, the work that has gone into this event today with Larry Lamb, and getting the library ready for that. We still have more work to do, and being a trustee of the Lionwood Infant School Library Fund charity means I will be invested long after my own child has left this school, but this is a project for the long term, and we want to ensure the children in the local community, now and in the future, have access to the resources they need in school, in a dedicated library space."
This event marked not only the amazing fundraising achievements so far, but it also highlighted the amount of fundraising that is actually needed to make a difference. The team have so far spent £10,000 on refurbishing an old classroom, purchasing bespoke furniture and shelving, and is expanding the collection of books with recent releases. This clear need for investment has now also been recognised by Chancellor Rachel Reeves through her recent pledge to fund a library in every primary school in England. Anna commented, “We are thrilled to see this government investing in creating library spaces in schools to inspire and nurture children’s love of reading. However, the true cost of creating and maintaining a thriving reading environment requires dedication and ongoing financial support. There is no indication that the recently announced national budget would address the ongoing costs of running a dynamic and well-maintained school library.”
While primary schools are waiting for their pot of library gold to possibly appear, Anna and her team are not resting on their laurels. “We have spent over £10,000 so far, and the library isn’t complete yet. In our research, funding has to cover costs of replenishing 10% of stock annually, something we currently plan to maintain with ongoing fundraising efforts. We need to purchase more bespoke tables so the room can be used for other lessons including phonics, as the space still has to be multifunctional.”
To reach that sustainable, happy ending, ongoing investment in libraries is clearly key. The Team are desperate to keep developing the library space and to purchase more new books. They also plan to have an official opening event in the new year where they we would like Nick Butterworth to return to do this. If you would like to donate to this incredible project to further their dreams, please click on the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/charity/lionwoodinfantschoollibraryfund
On behalf of all the children at Lionwood, and all the future generations who will follow… we salute all the amazing efforts of Team Library. What you have achieved so far is outstanding. As a former primary school teacher myself, I will always stand firm with my stance that reading is the key to succeeding. We can’t just stand back and see a love for something disappear. We all need to be more like Team Library!
Check out the comments for additional images of Anna Storrs, Larry Lamb and Jim Baker from Norwich Men’s Shed, along with Year 2 parents and children enjoying this special occasion.
