THE Duchess of Cornwall visited Newport today, Wednesday, to officially open the new library at Millbrook Primary School in Bettws.
Pupils were surprised and delighted when they were told this morning that they would be welcoming a royal visitor as part of the duchess and Prince Charles' visit to Wales.
Shortly before her 75th birthday, the duchess was treated to a rendition of Happy Birthday in both Welsh and English, sung by the school's pupils and staff in the assembly hall, and given a cake and handmade card.
She also met the school's Year 5 librarians and her usual security detail was helped out - in fine style - by Millbrook's Heddlu Bach (mini police) officers.
She was accompanied by How to Train Your Dragon author Cressida Cowell, as well as other writers and illustrators Tom Percival, Nadia Shireen, Children's Laureate Wales Connor Allen, and Bardd Plant Cymru Casi Wyn.
Arguably the star of the show was school dog Taliesin, who accompanies children in the library and helps relax less confident readers.
The Duchess of Cornwall is also the patron of the National Literacy Trust, and she met representatives from the organisation and its business partners to hear about ongoing work to give young children better access to books.
The new library at Millbrook is part of a nationwide campaign and the Chase Rewarding Futures School Libraries programme. As well as being a focal point for pupils' learning, its books will also be available to local families who want to borrow them and read them at home.
Headteacher Keri Smith, who took up the post last September, praised the "fabulous" royal visit.
"It's such an exciting day for the children and staff," she told the Argus. "It's wonderful - they've never seen anything like this before, and some of their favourite authors came to help launch the library.
"In the children's minds now, this is the most important library in the world. It's a really powerful tool to engage them."
Jonathan Douglas, the chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said one in four primary schools in less prosperous areas do not have a library.
He said the trust and its partners were working with hundreds of schools like Millbrook "to transform their library space, which will have a long-lasting, positive effect on their wellbeing and their chances of doing well in life".
A lovely welcome at @MillbrookP in Newport as pupils sing to the visiting Duchess of Cornwall ahead of her 75th birthday. HRH was with children's authors and illustrators to open the school's new library... pic.twitter.com/iKaiuWgVPT
— Nicholas Thomas (@NThomasWales) July 6, 2022
Sanjiv Somani is the chief executive of Chase bank in the UK, which is helping run the libraries programme. He told the Argus he had found the figures on the lack of school libraries "astounding".
"Giving [children] access to books opens a world of opportunity to them," he said. "Seeing the impact in such a short period of time has been amazing."
And Newport's new mayor, Cllr Martyn Kellaway, praised the school for its warm welcome to the Duchess of Cornwall.
"This is something the kids aren't going to forget," said, adding that the library would make "an amazing contribution" to the school and community.
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