World Book Day has become ‘less gimmicky’ with many schools in the area choosing to host less costly activities such as pyjama days.
In the not so distant past, most schools in Tayside would host fancy dress parades with children dressed as characters from books.
But in light of the cost-of-living crisis and the findings of the Scottish Government’s Cost of the School Day report, many schools chose to celebrate the day differently this year.
We visited two schools – Downfield Primary, in Dundee, and Grange Primary, in Monifieth – to find out how they marked the occasion.
Downfield Primary School, Dundee
Efforts were made to focus the event on reading at Downfield Primary School, Dundee, as apposed to activities which require a financial investment from parents.
Instead of fancy dress, pupils were given the option to wear pyjamas or sleep clothes and bring in a book, with a ‘bedtime story’ theme.
Stories are being read in class and each classroom door has been transformed into the cover of a book.
P7s door is the cover of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and P2/1 door has been transformed under the theme of Next, a book about equality.
Head teacher Karen Emmett said: “It’s less gimmicky than it used to be, it’s not about spending money on fancy dress costumes.
“We don’t want to put pressure on families, they have enough to think about without having worrying about World Book Day.
“We wanted to make it more accessible and focused on books.”
As well as running literacy based activities in the classroom, the school also hosted a book swap to encourage books to be passed on and read again.
Ms Emmett added: “Every child is going home with a book token and a new book to read from our book swap.”
Grange Primary School, Monifieth
Pupils at Grange Primary School, Monifieth, held their celebrations on the theme of ‘reading for pleasure’.
Each class also decorated a window depicting their favourite book and parents were invited to walk round the school and solve the clues to guess the names of the books.
The event was organised by teachers Fiona Anderson and Jane Balfour.
Ms Anderson said: “We wanted to promote reading together at home and share the benefits that reading together has for children.
“The families enjoyed reading together and had fun looking at all the window displays.”
Send your pics to win £50 voucher
We want to share the fun with our readers by publishing the photos you send us of your children in their World Book Day outfits.
Many of the snaps submitted will feature in an online gallery and we will try to include as many as we can in the Evening Telegraph on Monday, March 6.
Our favourite will also win a £50 book voucher.
Submit your photograph for publication and enter our competition here.
Conversation