PRIMARY school children from Worcester will gain a flavour of the arts, with a festival of books, poetry, drama and media at University College Worcester.

A host of creative opportunities for youngsters, including storytelling and a children's theatre production, will all feature at UCW's Henwick Grove campus on Thursday.

It will be the first Worcester Children's Book and Media Festival and is designed to be a forerunner to a larger annual festival, which will take place at venues throughout the city next year.

Schools involved in this year's event, include Dines Green Primary, Oldbury Park Primary, St Clement's Primary, and Stanley Road Primary, all based in Worcester.

Head of Art and Design at UCW, Maureen Gamble said: "The aim is to create a distinct and high profile annual festival for children in Worcester, which will have real positives in educational, social, cultural and economic aspects.

"The event will help UCW to build on its growing reputation in the field of children's literature, early childhood, education, drama, art and design and digital media."

For more information on the event, e-mail Ms Gamble at m.gamble@worc.ac.uk or call 01905 855422.

l For more on the success of Worcestershire's arts see Education on page 9.