Our favourite pictures from the Advertiser 15 years ago

The photos featured here were all first published in the paper on July 10, 2008 - and there are plenty of faces who will still be instantly recognisable 15 years on, and maybe one or two who won't!

Read on to find out who they are and why they appeared in the Advertiser...

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HELENSBURGH Scouts bedded down alongside children from all over Britain as they attempted to take part in a record-breaking sleepover.

The youngsters woke up bright and early the next morning and made another bid for a place in the Guinness Book of Records — this time for the world’s biggest mass tooth-brushing event.

The Royal Navy kindly donated the use of the Off Site Centre in Rhu for the night, which began with a fun-filled evening of games and films before the lights were switched off.

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IT was a night of glitz and glamour at the Victoria Halls, with posh frocks, Highland dress and limousines much in evidence.

The occasion was the Hermitage Primary P7 leavers' ball, with pupils turning on the style for the occasion as they said a fond farewell to their primary school years before moving on to secondary school after the summer.

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A POPULAR teacher was given an unusual and surprise send-off to mark her last term when she was picked up by a fire engine.

Sheenah Nelson retired at Cardross Primary School and, to mark the occasion, staff and pupils arranged to have a fire engine to pick her up from the village church after the school’s end of term service.

Pupils were on hand to offer their best wishes for the teacher who has served at the school for many years.

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A BANK manager from Helensburgh swapped her currency for a school curriculum after qualifying as a teacher.

Claire Thomson graduated with a PGDE (Primary) from Glasgow University and spoke to the Advertiser before taking up her first teaching job, at St Patrick's Primary in Dumbarton.

Claire, of Dalmore Crescent, decided to give up work as a bank manager in Glasgow after the birth of her second child and said: "Teaching is something I have always wanted to do. 

"For the last year and a half I volunteered at St Joseph’s School in Helensburgh and at a primary in Duntocher, as that gives you an idea whether you want to continue with it.”

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TALENTED dancers showed off their abilities when the Margaret Rose School of Dance held their annual display.

Helensburgh’s Victoria Halls was packed as the audience watched a variety show which included highland, tap, disco, hip hop, ballet and jazz.

Even dance teacher Margaret MacInnes’s grand-daughter Anna Rose made her first stage appearance, dressed in a tutu, at just six months old.

Trophies were awarded to Amirah Hussain, Hayden Cameron, Emma McTernon, Olivia Burns, Ellie Fletcher, Fiona Dade, Eilidh Meikle, Orla Ridge, Esme Francis Barr, Loren Mackie and Angela Mackie.

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Youngsters at Cardross Primary were marooned for the day on a desert island. the children had to navigate shark-infested waters to reach their island, then work in groups to perfect their survival skills.

The event marked the end of a two-month Castaway project which covered all aspects of the school curriculum, including music, art, creative writing, science and maths.

The young people spent the day on their 'island' - marked out by teachers with a lawnmower - and had to work in teams to build life-sized shelters with the materials they found. They also had to work together to collect water, keep the camp fire going and provide entertainment by performing their song and dance routines.