Two pupils from a Moray school have come first and second in a national literary competition.
Fiona McCafferty and Rhys Nelson, who both attend Elgin Academy, created their own comic book strips based on books they have read.
The Scottish Book Trust judging panel praised Fiona’s work as of such a high standard that it could be seen as drawings done by a published graphic novelist.
The third year student’s spooky sequence was inspired by Danny Weston’s The Haunting of Jessop Rise, and features a tense scene where someone suspects they are not alone in a dark room.
Judges said: “There is clever simplicity in the panels, with one of them just completely black, which works really well.”
Rhys Nelson, who is also in third year, came second with his bird’s eye view of the maze featured in Children of Icarus.
Elgin Academy head teacher David Barnett was proud of the pupils’ work and heaped further praise on the work of school librarian Shelagh Toonen – who was recently crowned the best in her field in Scotland and inspired the students to enter the competition.
He said: “Shelagh is an outstanding asset to our school and is a passionate advocate of the power of reading. Her innovative work, drive and enthusiasm has rightly been once again recognised at national level.”
Marc Lambert, chief executive of the Scottish Book Trust, said: “The judging panel was particularly impressed with how Shelagh has made the library a hub for cross-curricular activities, using the pupils’ own interests to engage them in books and reading.”
