Students from Perth High School gave some literary criticism and their teachers revealed their top book titles for a BBC Scotland TV show hosted by Damian Barr.
Perth connections were everywhere in the latest episode of The Big Scottish Book Club, broadcast at 10pm on Sunday, November 13.
The third episode – which can be viewed on iPlayer – had Perth broadcaster and writer Stuart Cosgrove in the studio as one of the guests.
Stuart shared his love of soul music and reflected on the what inspired him to write his books Hey America! and Cassius X.
Meanwhile, the real stars of the literary show were students from Perth High School. They were sent the book The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie prior to filming as the focus of the current BBC series is classic Scottish Literature.
Ross (S6), Rachael (S6), Sophie (S6) and Cara (S5) were asked to read the novel and then given an open forum on the day of filming to discuss the book.
The Perth High pupils were selected because they are part of the school’s senior book group run by librarian Elaine Blair and, as reading ambassadors for the school, they have organised many book-related events to share their love of reading.
Responding to the broadcast, Perth High School tweeted: “A big thank you to these superstars who appeared on #BigScottishBookClub tonight. We are very proud.”
Acting principal teacher of English, Kerry Fraser, explained: “Perth High School was accredited the Scottish Book Trust silver award earlier this year, and now pupils are trying to get gold accreditation- sharing our love of reading with the wider community is one of our goals.”
Kerry and other staff members Jo Gillone and Kathryn Downie were also part of the BBC programme, and they shared tips for ‘a book they would pack in their suitcase’.
The teachers are part of Perth High’s staff reading group and embody “the commitment as a school to promote reading for pleasure.”
The spotlight given to Perth High is a first on the show, with the Fair City readers believed to be the first Scottish school to be highlighted in this way so far.
Famous authors that will be appearing in future episodes of The Big Scottish Book Club series include Kate Mosse, Karen Campbell, Rachelle Atalla, Mark Billingham, Jennifer Egan, Patrick Gale, Armistead Maupin, Chitra Ramaswamy, Ian Rankin, Bethan Roberts, Lemn Sissay and Sarah Vaughan.
Among the other big names booked to contribute – many of whom are also authors or writers in their own right – are Deacon Blue’s Ricky Ross, Elaine C Smith, sports commentator and writer Andrew Cotter, comedian Josie Long, football legend Pat Nevin, Still Game’s Gavin Mitchell, The Fast Show’s Charlie Higson and the Reverend Richard Coles.
Host Damian, also an acclaimed author, said about the new format: “I get to meet people whose work I’ve admired, people whose work has intrigued me. And they get a chance to talk to each other.”
The Big Scottish Book Club, episode 3, can be found by checking the iPlayer.
