Dozens of triumphant schools from Kent and Medway have been honoured for their successes in promoting and delivering home reading and walk to school schemes.

Schools making a three-year commitment to reduce school-run car journeys, using the KM Charity Team’s Super Wow and Green Footsteps schemes, received Platinum Pledge certificates.

The awards can be earned at bronze, silver, gold, and platinum levels – but this year the winners were all gold or platinum level champions.

Literacy Mark awards were presented to schools using the Buster’s Book Club reading reward scheme to greatest effect to get pupils excited about books.

Among the organisations supporting the awards was Medway Council and James Sutton, safer journeys officer, said he was delighted to “recognise our schools that perform exceptionally well for walking to school and literacy.”

Other supporters of the celebration, staged by the KM Charity Team at the Mercure Maidstone Great Danes Hotel, included key partner Kreston Reeves, Employment Law 4 u, Kent County Council, London Borough of Bexley, Rotary South East, Kent Community Foundation, Crown Charitable Foundation, Golding Homes, Three Rs Teacher Recruitment, Countrystyle, Volker Highways, Maidstone Borough Council, Leeds Castle, and Diggerland.

Lansdowne Primary School in Sittingbourne, part of the Stour Academy Trust, was one of just 16 schools to be awarded Buster’s Outstanding Partner status – meaning they have performed exceptionally well in both green travel and Buster’s Book Club.

Samantha Long, literacy leader at the trust, said: “Buster’s Book Club has made a huge difference to our school - it’s really boosted the amount of children that we have reading for pleasure at home. We are delighted to receive our Literacy Mark because we feel that it recognises all the hard work we’ve put into encouraging families to keep up their reading at home and promoting literacy in our schools.”

Buster’s Book Club sets pupils an individual home reading target and a series of reading challenges throughout the year culminating in an annual record attempt. Children are rewarded with readers of the week trophies, tickets to leisure attractions, and storytelling visits.

The initiative runs from January to December each year. Schools registering for Buster’s Book Club by December 1 will go into a prize draw to win 400 books.

Visit www.BustersBookClub.co.uk or www.KmCharityTeam.co.uk/Wow or www.GreenSchoolAwards.co.uk