SCHOOLCHILDREN enjoyed sharing their love of reading with care village residents.

Nine and 10-year-olds from St Richard’s RC Primary School visited Belong Atherton for the first of new monthly shared reading gatherings.

It was organised by Dawn Nulty, head teacher of the Atherton school, and Gemma Willetts, experience co-ordinator at the Belong village for older people who require 24-hour care.

Gemma said: “It was lovely to see the two generations interacting at our reading event.

"The schoolchildren and residents certainly enjoyed reading together and both groups enjoyed getting to know each other.

"We are already looking forward to welcoming the school pupils to Belong Atherton next month.”

Clare Coulson, deputy headteacher at the primary school on Flapper Fold Lane, said: “It was a wonderful experience for our children, who thoroughly enjoyed the experience of sharing books with their new friends at Belong.”

Due to the success of the visit, there are plans afoot to extend the project to involve other classes at the school.