Free Beanos for Scottish school kids

Bet English school kids will be gnashing their teeth... over on the Wacky Comics blog, George Shiers reports DC Thomson is working with Scottish Business in the Community and will be giving away 370,000 free Beano comics to every single primary school pupil in Scotland.

The Daily Record reports it's intended as a new way to engage with youngsters, with popular characters Dennis the Menace and Gnasher teaching pupils the benefits of time management and motivation to help improve their school work. Minnie the Minx will give advice on money and savings, while the Bash Street Kids will promote healthy eating and better lifestyle choices.

While it's perhaps not something you'd not normally associate with the Bash Street gang, children will be encouraged to eat five portions of fruit every day by Danny, Smiffy, Spotty, Plug and Fatty.

“Making learning fun as well as engaging and relevant, and setting it in a format that makes our young people want to learn, is not an easy thing to do," noted Scottish Learning Minister Alasdair Allan, who welcomed the initiative.

"Experience shows that enterprising approaches help young people develop essential skills."

The free comic will be given away at the end of August,and hopefully it will also increase sales of The Beano.