Normally, young Lauren Welch is desperate to get outside to play with her friends in the sun.

But today the six-year-old does not want to leave her classroom because she is gripped by the book her teacher is reading to her.

“I like it when my teacher reads to me but we only do it if we have time,” says the youngster, who is a pupil at St Patrick RC School in Walsall.

“We don’t just have a book read to us at the end of the day – it is at any time and we also read by ourselves a lot. I like to have any book read to me but Roald Dahl’s stories are good because there is always something happening and they are exciting,” she added,

A recent survey showed that nine out of 10 primary teachers read to their pupils at least once a week despite the pressure of tests.

Responses from 360 staff in England and Wales reveal that all infant children are read to either every day or most days, but half of teachers in year six have cut down in the past five years, as they prepare for SATs.

The survey, by the Times Educational Supplement, revealed that teachers and pupils say Roald Dahl’s The Twits was the best to read aloud.

Debbie Beirne, deputy headteacher at St Patricks says: “It is strange but both children and teachers can either love or hate Harry Potter, but Roald Dahl seems to be a winner with everyone.

“Roald Dahl makes the children use their imagination and is fast-paced whereas the children can get fed-up with Harry Potter because it takes a long time for things to happen. The books that all the children I have taught enjoy are either the BFG or The Twits – both Roald Dahl books.”

The school council at St Patrick School recently ran a survey to find out what types of books the children enjoy reading. They found that girls like true stories, animal and Disney books while boys like mystery, ghost and football books.

Youngsters found pupils in year five liked to read when they are stressed, year six children mostly read revision guides because they have their SATs and in year two they are reading riddles to help them with their tests.

The TES survey found that one in three teachers had less time to read books to their class than they did five years ago, although nearly one in five had more time.

The biggest obstacles which stopped teachers reading aloud were the national curriculum, followed by tests. Joanne Tromans, literacy co-ordinator and year six teacher at Queen Victoria School in Sedgley says staff read to pupils every day.

She says: “Reading time with the teacher is timetabled to be at the end of every day for about 20 minutes. We read them a variety of books so they can be exposed to a wide variety of authors and a richness of language.”