PUPILS at a south Shropshire school celebrated World Book Day by dressing up as some of their favourite characters.

The youngsters at Bishop Hooper School in Ashford Carbonell, near Ludlow, got in to the spirit of the occasion by celebrating authors, illustrators, books and the act of reading itself.

The event, now in its 17th year, is the biggest of its kind and is designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in more than 100 countries.

The prize winners for World Book Day outfits as the school were: Class One, Cat in the Hat, Poppy Goode; Class Two, James and the Giant Peach, James Griffiths; Class Three, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, Hollie Weaver; and Class Four, Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games.

Bishop Hooper School opened in September 2009, following the amalgamation of Ashford Carbonell Primary School and Caynham Primary School.

The school site is now a purpose built, state of the art facility at the edge of Ashford Carbonell village.

The building has recently won several awards in the past including ‘best education building’, ‘best innovative/sustainable building’ and was the overall winner of the Building Excellence Awards Ceremony.

Parents and carers send their children to Bishop Hooper from, not only the local villages, but also the surrounding area.