Today marks the first day of this year’s Books for Schools scheme.

Starting today you can help your local school win a share of new books for their library.

All you have to do is simply collect tokens printed in The East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star and then send them to your local participating school.

Every participating school will win £100 worth of books.*

The school that collects the most will win £1,000 worth of books and two runner ups will win £500.

A number of schools have already signed up to the scheme including Shotley Community Primary, Cedars Park Primary and Norton CEVC Primary School.

"We have just opened a brand-new library building as part of our commitment to enhancing the provision for reading at the school", said Peter Mabbitt, deputy headteacher at Norton CEVC Primary School.

"One of the four key drivers for our school curriculum is that every child should leave us at the end of Year 6 as an avid reader, so we are now looking to refresh our collection of both fiction and non-fiction books.

“It is also really important to us that every individual in the school has the opportunity to read about children like themselves in a story.”

Suffolk-based author Sophie Green said: “The most important element in reading for pleasure is choice, from comics to fact books, novels to picture books; finding the right book at the right time makes all the difference, so children need plenty to choose from.

“Books are full of possibilities. They can take you on adventures to other planets and across this one, through time and in someone else’s shoes, they help us to understand ourselves and each other.

“Every child deserves to have access to a library and every school library needs lots of books, because reading changes lives.”

Children's author Anne Marie Howell said: “Fostering a love of reading in children is so important. As well as developing vocabulary, language and writing skills, reading builds empathy and the evidence shows that a child who reads for pleasure will go on to be more socially and economically successful as an adult.

"Having access to new and diverse books is key so I am delighted Archant will be giving away so many books to children across Norfolk and Suffolk primary schools.”

Click here to sign up your school.

Terms & conditions apply * On collection of 1,000 tokens every school will receive £100 to spend on books of their choice from a supplied list. The main prizes will be awarded according to pupil numbers versus tokens collected i.e 50 pupils collecting 6,000 tokens is the same as 100 pupils collecting 12,000 tokens