A TWO day celebration of literature took place at St Francis Catholic and Church of England Primary Academy.

Major General Martin White visited the Ventnor school as part of the IW Literary Festival celebrations.

The event was aimed at encouraging the children's enthusiasm for reading, with book-related arts and crafts and a whole school 'theatre in the round'.

Six authors visited, including Alex Milway, Mo O’Hara, Sarah Holding, Jake Rodrigues, Kev Sutherland (who draws for the ‘Beano’) and local historian and author Philip Bell.

Librarian Gill Crossley said: "St Francis was delighted to be able to share this special day with pupils from Wroxall Primary School and St Blasius Primary Academy.

"To quote two of the children: 'We had two great days and I enjoyed the authors and finding out what my friends are reading' and 'I had a very enjoyable day and learned a lot of new story planning skills from author Sarah Holding.'

"The atmosphere in school on both days was animated and inspirational."