Blaxcell Street Public School principal Sandra Bradley could be forgiven for sounding overwhelmed when her school was the recipient of an extraordinary donation from ABC personality Adam Spencer through the Dymocks Literacy Foundation.

“It’s going to change people’s lives,” Mrs Bradley said of the $10,000 gift made personally by Mr Spencer and his wife, Melanie, to support the school’s literacy program.

The relationship between Blaxcell Street Public and the broadcaster started in Education Week 2006 when Mr Spencer was “principal for a day”.

Impressed by Blaxcell Street’s diversity – 98 per cent of students are from a non-English speaking background – Mr Spencer invited the school to attend “The world in Sydney” event at the ABC headquarters last year.

Mr Spencer made a return visit to the school last term to announce the donation, which will be made annually to Blaxcell Street Public. Books selected by the school’s support teacher learning have been purchased and will be given to students as they reach their reading targets in the school’s literacy program.

“When you have kids at school who don’t have one item in English at home, and we say to them, ‘Go home and practise your reading’ … They can borrow from the library, but it’s not the same as having your own books in the home,” Mrs Bradley said.

Mr and Mrs Spencer were thrilled with the gift of a book, Ellie, Olivia and the Lost Puppy, written and illustrated by Blaxcell Street Public students and named for the couple’s two daughters.

“The students were the most amazing, diverse and lovely group of young Australians and I’m just thrilled to be helping some of them take on the challenge of learning to read,” Mr Spencer said.