How one Ashton school celebrated World Book Day in lockdown

World Book Day is one of the most exciting days in the calendar for schools and - despite the coronavirus lockdown - this year was no exception for pupils at one school in Ashton. 

The children and staff at St Peter's CE Primary School immersed themselves in all kinds of literature on Thursday (4 March) for this year's event - which is now celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide, to highlight the importance of reading and literature.

Youngsters at the Oxford Street school had the pleasure of being joined by the author of 'While We Can't Hug' to kick the day off, with a Zoom recital of the book and a questions and answer session.

World Book Day - which was first celebrated in the UK in 1995 - is always a day when children are encouraged to dress as their favourite literary characters as they head off to school.

Although that hasn't been possible for many this year, with schools remaining in lockdown and children learning from home, youngsters were still encouraged to dress up as their favourite book characters for online classes and to send in their photos.

So there was also a 'St Peter's Catwalk' to show off their character and author costumes, where they had the chance of winning a St Peter's World Book Day mug.

Pupils also busied themselves with book-led activities based on famous advocates in the Little People Big Dreams books - such as Steven Hawking and Muhammed Ali - as well as attending the Ready Steady Read event by Tameside Libraries and Culture, where they watched the brilliant Dominic Berry.

Two children from Year 5 also took part in their own virtual reading sessions to the whole school, and confidently answered questions from teachers and other pupils. 

Saaliha said that she had a great day and wants to do it again, while Alfie said that he had the best day ever! 

Charlotte Pickersgill, Assistant Headteacher and English lead at St Peter's, said how important a day such as this is - to not only emphasise the importance of reading but to use it as an opportunity for children to gain a love for reading.  

You can also see more about what the school were up to on a fun-filled World Book Day on their Twitter account by clicking here.

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