Balmuildy Primary in East Dunbartonshire welcomed Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024-2026 Frank Cottrell-Boyce on Wednesday 26 November.
The Bishopbriggs primary was the only school in Scotland to receive a visit from the best-selling author, as part of his three-day literary visit.
During his visit, he spoke with pupils and staff to hear about their progress towards becoming a Gold Reading School. The event was organised as part of Scottish Book Trust’s innovative Reading Schools programme that supports schools to build a reading culture, and where every pupil is encouraged to develop a love of reading.
Currently a Silver accredited Reading School, Balmuildy is working towards the top level Gold status. After all kinds of fun during Book Week Scotland, the children of the Reading Committee spoke to Frank about all the things they do to be a Reading School. They performed the ‘Balmuildy Reading Song’ and showed off their comfortable reading spaces, indoors and out. Pupils told him all about the Read Write Count and Bookbug bags they received free last week, and how parents had been into school to read to classes in their home languages. The P4-6 parents are also invited to join the new Book and a Biscuit Club after school. Their Big Balmuildy Book Swap means everyone can get a new book to enjoy too. The activities, led by the children, are all contributing to make Balmuildy a thriving Reading School.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the multi-award-winning author of numerous beloved children's books, including Millions, The Wonder Brothers, Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth and many more, as well as having an illustrious career as a screenwriter working on both film and TV, as a writer on the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony and Doctor Who.
On the morning before the visit to Balmuildy, Frank Cottrell-Boyce took part in Authors Live to discuss his latest title, The Blockbusters, set in Hollywood. Authors Live is a series of world-class children’s author and illustrator events from Scottish Book Trust, in partnership with BBC Scotland. It is brought into your classroom, library or home for free, live on the web. Frank let us into the secrets of the story, and how he took inspiration from the real-life film sets he has worked on.
Convener of East Dunbartonshire Council’s Education Committee, Lynda Williamson, attended the visit and said, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the children of Balmuildy Primary and is something they will always remember.
“Reading for pleasure is so important to a young person’s development and Balmuildy Primary is doing a wonderful job of instilling a love of the written word in its pupils. Well done to them on their achievements so far and a huge thank you to Frank and the Scottish Book Trust for making this visit to East Dunbartonshire to inspire our pupils.”
This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the children of Balmuildy Primary and is something they will always remember.
Balmuildy Primary’s Headteacher Charlotte Grogan added, “Our reading journey at Balmuildy has been motivating and fun. Through their hard work and leadership skills, pupils and staff in our Reading Committee have created a positive reading environment across our whole school.
“We are excited to continue our journey and look forward to embedding this positive reading culture across our school and our community for years to come.”
Mark Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: ‘As the only school in Scotland to receive a visit from Frank Cottrell-Boyce, pupils were in for a magical experience. Author visits to schools are incredibly inspirational and motivational, and hearing directly from the Children’s Laureate is sure to further motivate Balmuildy’s love of reading. We also wish the school luck in achieving their Gold status.’
Completely free for schools to take part, and tying in with the curriculum, Reading Schools is designed and delivered by Scottish Book Trust and funded by the Scottish Government. Schools in every local authority are participating and it has proved to be so popular that over 50% of the schools in the country have or are working towards an accreditation.
Schools advance from their initial core accreditation to silver and gold status by continuing to develop new activities and initiatives for teachers, pupils, families and the wider community to boost their love of reading. Reading for pleasure is central to supporting wellbeing, improving attainment across the curriculum, and boosting critical thinking, creativity, empathy and resilience.
