Canterbury and Whitstable Labour MP Rosie Duffield will swap the House of Commons for school assembly to read a tale to the class deemed the best or most improved in reading or walking to school.

This star prize is up for grabs to schools participating in the Buster’s Book Club home reading scheme or the KM Walk to School campaign, both run by educational charity, the KM Charity Team.

To be in with a chance of winning, classes simply make an extra effort to reach their home reading targets or tot up the most impressive number of green journeys to school instead of travelling by car on the contest date of Wednesday, May 8.

The challenge comes during the KM Year of Reading campaign to promote a love of books and literacy across the county.

Simon Dolby, chief executive of the KM Charity Team, said: “We are thrilled that Rosie Duffield has agreed to be a VIP storyteller. This prize will encourage young people to try that bit harder to complete their home reading with mum or dad, or to walk or cycle to school more often – alleviating the problem of air-polluting cars choking up our county’s roads.”

Ms Duffield also supported the KM Charity Team’s Young Cooks initiative by attending a Young Cooks VIP Luncheon in January – where the contest’s eight-year-old champ Boglar Bote-Godri served her prize-winning menu to a group of dignitaries.

Organisations backing the KM Charity Team’s green travel and literacy work with schools include Kent Community Foundation, Golding Vision, Orbit South, Specsavers, Leeds Castle, Rotary, Acorns Read and Grow, Crown Foundation, The Gibbons Trust, Whites Transport, Ashford International Hotel, Volker Highways, Countrystyle Recycling, Eurostar, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Whitefriars, Gatwick Airport, The Ernest Cook Trust, Little Cheyne Court, and the Kent, Medway, Maidstone, Ashford and Bexley councils.

The charity’s KM Walk to School campaign includes Super Wow (Walk on Wednesday) and Green Footsteps. Both schemes, along with Buster’s Book Club, work by motivating whole classes to achieve together. Each week, they compete for the Class of the Week Trophy for reading or green travel. Prizes for monthly inter-school challenges have included tickets to leisure attractions, storyteller sessions, theatre workshops, and falconry experiences.

To find out more, visit www.KmCharityTeam.co.uk