PUPILS at some Bradford schools will soon be getting help to become better readers from some of the city's sporting stars.

The Bradford Bulls Foundation has been awarded a grant of £10,000 by the Big Lottery Fund to deliver the “Read with the Bulls’ programme.

The programme will be carried out in partnership with Bradford charity Reading Matters and will seek to improve the reading skills of children in areas where children's literacy rates need improvement.

Buttershaw-based Reading Matters was set up to help children develop a love of reading, and helps train mentors to work with children.

The ‘Read with the Bulls’ programme will place mentors trained by Reading Matters into five schools around the city during the summer term this year.

As well as Bradford Bulls’ players and staff, opticians from Boots in The Broadway shopping centre in Bradford will also be involved in visiting schools and reading to children.

The schools taking part will each receive a £400 Reading Matters resource box to encourage reluctant readers.

Robbie Hunter Paul, chief executive officer of Bradford Bulls, is taking part as a Reading Mentor.

He said: “I’d like to thank Reading Matters and the Bulls Foundation for allowing the club to be part of this project. A professional sporting club lives and breathes off its community and has a duty to support those in need.

"Personally I fell in love with reading through a similar activity at school in New Zealand and I have come to understand that reading is food for the brain.

"It is important that we understand the negative impact that our digital lifestyles are having on children’s development, and as parents and teachers find ways to enthuse in them a passion for reading and books.”

Lyn Cole, Big Lottery Fund, England Grant Making director, said: “It’s great to see this project being funded this month to help children get the most out of reading.

"This is an excellent example of people working together, often as volunteers, to support others in their community to build on their skills and reach their potential.”

A spokesman for Reading Matters said: "It is great working with Bradford Bulls, they are a professional sports club that lives and breathes their community."

Research by Reading Matters shows that a child's reading age can improve by an average of 15 months by working with a reading mentor for only an hour a week over a ten-week period.

Mr Hunter Paul will also be the guest speaker at the charity's annual fundraising dinner on Saturday, May 14, at The Midland Hotel, Bradford.

For more information, visit readingmatters.org.uk/events/reading-matters-gala-dinner/