STORYBOOK characters stepped of the pages and into Bolton’s schools.

Primary and high school pupils — and in many cases teachers too — celebrated World Book Day by dressing up as their favourite character.

Throughout Bolton characters from Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as other popular reads including One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland and The Three Musketeers.

It has been designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading and is marked in more than 100 countries.

The main aim of World Book Day in the UK is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

Pupils in years seven, eight and nine at Rivington and Blackrod High School in Horwich were given a World Book Day Token The English department organised a number of activities including a bake sale with money raised used to buy books for the school library.

A “Book Tree” was also created for pupils to write down the title of their favourite book on a leaf.

Headteacher Tony Purcell said: “Reading for pleasure has a clear connection to academic success and therefore we felt that it was really important for us to celebrate this day. Students have been introduced to a variety of books and authors throughout the day that they perhaps would not have thought about previously.

“It has been great to see the interest of so many young people in reading, and we really hope that all of the activities that the students have enjoyed continue to foster in them a love of reading.”

See more World Book Day pictures here.