Acclaimed author visits school

BUDDING young storytellers at a Greenock school enjoyed tales of Scotland during a special author visit.

Second year pupils at Inverclyde Academy heard from storyteller Kati Waitzmann who talked of everything from Irn-Bru to local folklore.

The event was organised by school librarian Katie Veitch and funded by TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) as part of their Big Scottish Story Ripple project.

Katie told the Tele: “By having fresh and inspiring events such as these, pupils grow an excitement to come to the library.

“Going back to the ancient form of oral storytelling allows all pupils equal and easy access to the imaginative world of literature.”

In exchange for the session, pupils were asked to go home and ask someone to share a story with them. Over the coming weeks they will write their own short stories, which will be bound into books and distributed across the community.

Storyteller Kati added: “The students and I had that unique connection storytellers dream of.

“We had fun creating connections through stories with the hills, castles and river of the Inverclyde area.”