SIXTH form students from St John’s in Marlborough have stepped in to replace author Adam Thorpe at Marlborough LitFest.

Mr Thorpe had to pull out of the festival on Saturday, October 3, so in his place at 1.30pm in St Mary’s Church Hall will be a number of the students discussing a recent film they made about books and reading.

The 20 minute film, edited down from an original 45 minutes, will be screened to a LitFest audience and will be followed by a discussion between the student panel, chaired by Richard Lamb, a St John’s English teacher.

The Year 12 students were caught on camera by Mr Lamb, discussing books and reading in general, although the content also included chat on austerity measures by the government such as cutbacks to public libraries.

Freya Pigott, St John’s sixth former and co-organiser, said: "It is crucial that young people are involved in events such as Marlborough LitFest, as so often young people go unheard.

“This year we have organised a film of sixth form students discussing things from their favourite reads to the controversy of watching a film before the book, reforms of GCSE English to whether books being gendered is necessary.

“It is a really intriguing project that should prove to be very interesting for those wanting an insight into the minds of students."

This initiative is a follow up to some digital book vlogs created by St John’s students from Years 8, 9 and 10 and co-ordinated by digital content director Terence O’Connor.

In this project, the students filmed ten short video segments where they discussed the books they were currently reading or had read. Recorded and edited on their phones or with Apple computers, these candid videos capture the teen voices and can be viewed on the LitFest website: http://www.marlboroughlitfest.org/digital-diaries/