Troon's Marr College hosts first book festival for primary school pupils

Primary school pupils were treated to a morning of literary fun as Marr College hosted its first book festival.

Primary six pupils from the Marr Cluster - which includes Barassie, Dundonald, Muirhead, Struthers and Troon Primary Schools - took part as Marr College built on its reputation as a reading school.

S2 pupils from the school helped run the festival which featured activities aimed to get young people excited about reading.

Alongside presentations from published authors, Lindsay Littleson and Martin Stewart, there were visual merchandising and marketing sessions, illustration workshops, competitions, virtual reality sessions and a pop-up Waterstones book shop.

Lindsay is a former primary school teacher who writes books for the 8-12 age group while Martin was previously an English teacher at Kyle Academy in Ayr and writes fiction for children, young adults and adults.

South Ayrshire Council's depute chief executive and director of education, Lyndsay McRoberts, said: “The first ever Marr Cluster Book Festival was a great success. Marr College is determined to build upon its credentials as a Reading School and aim for the next milestone – this event was a big step in the right direction.

“The pupils engaged with the activities and competitions and thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic author presentations. I’m sure many will have left with a list of books they’re excited to read.”

Organising the festival will count towards Marr College’s bid to achieve Gold Reading School Accreditation from the Scottish Book Trust.

After achieving silver accreditation in June 2023, Marr College is now sharing their expertise as a reading school with the wider community through engagement with local primary schools. The Scottish Book Trust will also sponsor their Writing Awards.

The festival was delivered in partnership with the South Ayrshire Reads programme which aims to raise attainment in literacy across South Ayrshire.

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