Marr College's new book festival launched

The Marr Cluster Book Festival was held on Friday 21 June - the first of its kind to be hosted by Marr College!

Primary 6 pupils from the Marr Cluster, which includes Barassie; Dundonald; Muirhead; Struthers; and Troon Primary Schools, were invited to attend. S2 pupils from Marr College participated in the running of this fantastic event.

The group experienced a jam-packed morning full of activities aimed to get young people excited about reading, including visual merchandising and marketing sessions, illustration workshops, competitions, virtual reality sessions, and a pop-up Waterstones book shop.

There were also some special presentations by published authors, Lindsay Littleson and Martin Stewart. Lindsay is a former Primary School teacher who writes books for the 8-12 age group. Martin, who was previously an English teacher at Kyle Academy in Ayr, writes fiction for children, young adults, and adults. 

The Marr Cluster Book Festival was delivered in partnership with the South Ayrshire Reads programme, which aims to raise attainment in literacy across South Ayrshire.

The organising of this event will also contribute towards Marr College's bid to achieve Gold Reading School Accreditation from the Scottish Book Trust. Following their achievement of Silver accreditation in June 2023, Marr College are 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.

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!"