Ayr Advertiser Files: The top stories and photos from 2008

Who can you spot in these South Ayrshire photos from 15 years ago?

A group of Girvan teachers and parents completed a daredevil abseil of 100 feet to pay for their school buses. Staff and parents from Pinwherry Primary school tackled the Mauchline gorge in November 2008 in a bid to raise as much money as they could for the school.

A successful fundraiser was held in aid of the Hansel Foundation at Brig O' Doon House in Ayr in November 2008. It was well attended and provided welcome financial support for the organisation that helps disabled people in South Ayrshire.

Fisherton primary pupils were working with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers in 2008 as part of their eco-school programmes. They collected and built a greenhouse made with more than 1,400 plastic bottles that they had to wash, cut and build up on bamboo canes and planned to plant flowers and grow vegetables. The school’s eco committee are pictured here with Elspeth Lawson from the Ayr branch of BTCV.

Laura-Jane Gibson, of Maybole, made her Scottish professional debut in Edinburgh with the Birmingham Royal Ballet in November 2008. Laura-Jane, 20, was at the Festival Theatre performing the role of the vixen in Beauty and the Beast and says it was a dream come true for her.

Council chiefs were recently given a guided tour of Belmont Academy by students in 2008. The £25 million school was paid for through Public Private Partnership (PPP) - and the visitors were impressed with what they saw. Councillor Hywel Davies said: “I would like to thank everyone involved in this project, in particular the students and employees of the school.”

And staying with Belmont Academy, these pupils had a great time on Wear It Pink Day, raising cash for Breast Cancer Research in 2008.