Scottish kids design amazing posters for the Edinburgh Fringe festival

Unless you’ve recently relocated from a teeny tiny little hut atop a snowy, sheep-covered mountain miles from the nearest village, you probably know that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is on. It’s only the world’s biggest arts festival, after all. What you might not know is how it all began. Back in 1947, when corned beef was still a dietary staple and your granny was grateful for her bread and dripping sandwiches, eight rogue theatre troops gatecrashed the Edinburgh International Festival. These unofficial performers staged shows on the outskirts of the festival, and so “the fringe” was born.

The festival has always given budding theatre directors and comedians emerging from their cocoons the chance to make it big. Since 1980, its School’s Poster Competition has also called upon wee nippers to pick up a pencil or paintbrush and prove themselves to be the Picassos of Perthshire or the Monets of Midlothian. Over 100,000 young people aged from five to sixteen have been involved over the years and some of their work is really quite something.

We’ve posted this year’s winners, but you can also dip into the archive on the Schools Poster Competitions site.