Little learners are first class
Pupils impress with literacy and engineering awards
Children from a Paisley school came into class at night wearing their pyjamas to be treated to a bedtime story.
The event at Todholm Primary School was part of the drive by the Scottish Government to raise attainment in literacy.
And that saw primary one pupils go home in the afternoon, and then come back at 6pm, dressed in their nightwear.
“Some of the mums and dads arrived in their pyjamas too,” said headmistress Lynne McGinn.
“It was all about involving pupils and families and getting the children into a good reading routine before going to bed.”
The bedtime story event was just one of many that Todholm introduced to help get children used to reading and make it a lifelong passion for them.
And that included library visits, as well as getting involved with Renfrewshire Council’s mobile library for youngsters, the Skoobmobile.
“Library membership rose from 36 per cent to 96 per cent,” said Mrs McGinn.
“And that’s from a roll of 480 in the school and nursery.”
Todholm Primary was presented with a certificate from the Scottish Government to mark its achievement in raising literacy attainment.
The First Minister launched the Scottish Attainment Challenge in February 2015 in a bid to highlight the issue.
It is underpinned by the Nat i o na l I m p rovement Framework, Curriculum for Excellence and Getting it Right for Every Child.
The school also notched up a notable achievement in the world of engineering.
It won the ‘I’m An Engineer, I Can Help Here’ prize at a Young Engineers and Science Club Scotland event held at Glasgow Science Centre.
Youngsters at the school demonstrated how they would tackle flooding by use of a specially-designed bridge and the results from soil samples.
The school was presented with a wonderful trophy to mark its achievement.
“We were all thrilled,” Mrs McGinn said.