Two local schools have picked up awards in this year’s First Minister’s Reading Challenge.

P2/1 from Westquarter Primary School and P4 from Bo’ness Public Primary School were both recognised with the Pupil Reading Journey prize at a ceremony held in Glasgow yesterday (June 10th).

The judging panel was impressed by the fact Westquarter’s P2/1 had fallen in love with specific books and had demonstrated a sense of change in the class’ reading culture over the course of the year, with pupils enjoying storytime so much that their teacher created QR codes for them to continue to listen at home.

Lorraine Collins, Headteacher, said: “We are very proud of P2/1 and their fantastic achievement. We are passionate about inspiring a reading culture and a love of reading in our children as we believe that a good book can take you on the most amazing adventure.”

For Bo'ness Public Primary School’s P4 class, the judges felt their submission had shown an energy and infectious enthusiasm for the challenge highlighting the journey they had been on since becoming Reading Champions for their school, which saw them take part in a range of activities from a cosy Christmas read to a holding a Bookswap.

Acting Headteacher, Mrs Jacqueline Sihota, said the events organised by the P4 class had been “enjoyed by all children and their families, promoting reading as a tool for learning as well as for enjoyment” adding “this is a well-deserved prize for Miss Stevenson and Primary 4".

Over 1,100 primary and secondary schools, libraries and community groups from every local authority in Scotland participated in the third year of the First Minister’s Reading Challenge, which aims to encourage children to read for pleasure and develop a lifelong love of books.

Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives through reading and writing, delivered the reading initiative on behalf of the Scottish Government and every school in Scotland was invited to take part.

The prizes were presented by author Ross MacKenzie, and accepted by class teacher Mary Jalland and pupils Amy, Joel and Harry from Westquarter Primary School (top picture). Class teacher Amanda Stevenson and pupils Alice, Olivia and Naomi accepted the award for Bo’ness Public Primary School (bottom picture).