Exeter Pupils Invited to Enter Dream Library Design Competition

Portakabin launches school library initiative as children’s reading enjoyment hits its lowest level in two decades

Aligning with the government’s pledge to provide a library in every primary school, Portakabin will deliver a fully equipped library building to one school, shaped by the winning design.

The competition invites primary school pupils and teachers to imagine and design their dream school library, supporting a UK-wide effort to address the shortage of library spaces in primary schools.

The initiative follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ recent pledge to ensure every primary school in England has a library; a commitment aimed at supporting the estimated 1,700 schools currently without one, alongside confirmation in the recent Autumn Budget that the Government will provide £5 million of new funding to state-funded secondary schools in England to increase book supplies to support the National Year of Reading.

As part of its commitment, Portakabin will bring the winning design to life, providing the chosen school with a bespoke, fully equipped modular library building free of charge for 12 months, whilst sparking conversations about the role of learning environments in supporting literacy, wellbeing and inclusion amongst young people.

“Inspiring Libraries is about helping schools re-imagine what spaces can look like,” commented Dan Ibbetson, CEO of Portakabin. “Many schools face real challenges around space and resources, so by working directly with pupils and teachers, we hope to spark new ideas and highlight how well-designed spaces can make reading more engaging, inclusive and enjoyable for every child.”

Research shows that one in seven UK primary schools does not have a library, a figure that rises to one in four in disadvantaged areas. Access to inspiring library spaces has been consistently linked with improved literacy, wellbeing and wider educational outcomes.

With Inspiring Libraries, Portakabin aims to not only support a school with a new reading space, but also to encourage wider conversations about how learning environments can inspire a lifelong love of reading.

As part of a partnership between York Cares and Portakabin, the York based business is proud to be members of its ‘Right to Read’ initiative, by placing employee-volunteers in local schools, where they provide much needed one-to-one reading support for primary aged children with the aim to boost literacy standards in the city.

Primary schools now have until Friday 16 January to submit entries for the ‘Inspiring Libraries Competition’, with the winning school announced on Friday 23 January.