Does your primary school go past the usual book band colours? Ours does and I'm not sure why.

[CFSsucks]

As I understand it, lime is usually the last colour in the book bands. I can't find much online that goes past lime and the ones I do aren't quite true to what DCs school uses. After lime they have grey, burgandy, light blue, brown, yellow then black which DS says is free reader. They also have a chart up which shows what SATS level the book band corresponds to (eg, DS is on brown which says 4C next to it).

Some of the books in the vast free reader section are easier than the book band ones DS reads (and look far more interesting!) so I am quite keen for him to get past bloody book bands and just read what he wants. He is quite an avid reader anyway and has seen quite a few in the free reader section he wants (Tom Gates etc). I don't understand why our school has so many random book bands when most schools seem to just stop at lime. It can't be the only school that does this can it?

The reading levels will have targets based on a group reading scheme. Can they skim read, what is x implying? Why did Y say X? What happens next?
They look at contents glossary page numbers author fact/fiction etc

DD had a list of free read criteria - to tick she read a fact book fiction etc - might be a suggestion

Also they don't have much money for books - can you ask for donations of books? Or offer to fund raise for new free reading books?

Can you not just let him read the Tom Gates book he wants to?

Let him whizz through the scheme books and then just read what he wants til it's time to change book.

They had a huge amount of money for books last year. Basically if parents bought books from a drive thing they did, everything ober their target was going to be used for new school books. It was great to get loads of brand new books. They were all free reading books though. No new books for the book bands (which are incredibly outdated).

stepaway, he is supposed to change the scheme book when he has finished the last one, due to how fast he reads them this is a few time a week and he is supposed to get 2 at a time. But there has only been 1 book available in his band all week. He is allowed to take his own books in, which he has, the 2 new ones he had for Christmas. The rest from home he has read a few times. We are seriously running out of room for books at home for the DCs. There are Tom Gates ones at school but they are in the free reader section so DS isn't allowed them yet, despite having them from the library before. I know I'm going to have to drag myself back to the library. It's such a faff though!

Honestly, I would just let him change his school books once a week (or less) and get books he wants to read the library the rest of the time.

So long as he's reading that's great. In fact, it will likely make him more enthusiastic about reading than being forced to re-reading dull scheme books.