A DOON Valley primary school is set to welcome a professional author to work with pupils on a residency programme.

Patna Primary will host author Paul Bristow after being named one of 10 schools across Scotland awarded fully-funded residencies by the Scottish Book Trust.

The Live Literature School Residencies programme, in its ninth year, is funded by the Walter Scott Giving Group and delivered by the Scottish Book Trust, a national charity championing literacy.

Mr Bristow, a children's author from Greenock, is set to conduct 14 workshops to work with pupils struggling with literacy by creating a comic book all about the village and the local area.

The outcome will be showcased at a community event.

These programmes aim to instil a lifelong love for reading and writing in pupils while providing a platform for professional writers to build a relationship with the school.

Mr Bristow said: "I had the chance to visit Patna Primary once before, so I’m looking forward to going back and getting to know the school better.

"We’ll be looking at the history of the area to find inspiration for our stories and comics.

"That’s one of my favourite things, exploring a new place and discovering all the tales on our doorstep."

Claire McPhail, head teacher at Patna Primary, said: "Our pupils will love having Paul Bristow as the author in residence to create a comic book about Patna, exploring the school and the community.

"We are sure that our pupils will be inspired by Paul and I cannot wait to share our comic book with the community."

Marc Lambert, chief executive officer of Scottish Book Trust, congratulated the 10 schools that have been selected for the Live Literature School Residencies Programme.

He said: "It’s an incredibly valuable programme as it allows authors to build relationships with a school over time, and to inspire pupils to develop a love of writing and creative expression.

"These creative projects also offer the chance to engage with the local community, while promoting reading and writing cultures.

"We are grateful to our funders the Walter Scott Giving Group for making this programme available to all schools."

The residency programmes will run throughout the 2024-2025 school year, wrapping up by May 2025.

Schools participating in the programme will also receive a resources grant worth £500.