Broughton High School pupils gave Minister for Learning, Sciences and Scotland’s Languages Dr Alasdair Allan a warm welcome today (Wednesday 2 December) as he visited the school in Edinburgh to celebrate their work in promoting the use of Scots language.
Dr Allan visited the school following St Andrew’s Day on 30 November to see the work the school has been doing on an in-depth Scots language project, developed by Education Scotland, called ‘Keen tae Ken yir Kin’.
As part of this project, Broughton High School have partnered with Banff Academy, Aberdeenshire, to explore their own regional varieties of Scots as well as that of their partner school. The project began with each school exchanging a ‘handsel’*, with pupils writing in Scots about themselves and the area in which they live.
The project has progressed with pupils now translating both fiction and non-fiction texts into Scots, sharing passages from popular stories such as ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. This exciting work mirrors what published authors writing in Scots are producing whilst also maintaining originality, as it uses Scots vocabulary unique to their area.
Pupils at Broughton High are learning about Scots as part of their work towards achieving the SQA Scots Language Award, and have completed the ‘Scotland in Focus’ unit as part of their Scottish Studies Award so far.
Minister for Learning, Sciences and Scotland’s Languages Dr Alasdair Allan, said: “It was fantastic to visit Broughton High today to see so many young people engaged in the Scots language. The work they are doing is a great example of how to promote the language in a way that resonates with pupils by exploring the vocabulary that they use every day. Their work complements the Scottish Government’s support for Scots and reflects our ambitions for young people to learn about Scots as part of our Scots Language Policy.”
Alan Armstrong, Strategic Director for School Years at Education Scotland, said: “We’re pleased that Broughton High has been recognised through Dr Allan’s visit for its approach to promoting Scots language and encouraging pupils to learn and use it. Our Scots Language Co-ordinators have been working hard to support the schools involved in our ‘Keen tae Ken yir Kin’ project, which sees pupils explore their own and other regional varieties of Scots. Teachers from Broughton have shared their experiences of teaching Scots on our Glow community blog, called ‘Blether’ and I’d encourage other practitioners with an interest in Scots to join the conversations.”
Broughton High School Headteacher, John Wilson, said: “We were delighted to welcome Dr Allan to Broughton High School today as he gave the pupils an opportunity to share their learning and achievements in several ways. They were able to discuss their studies in Scots language, share work on Scotland depicted through film and TV, and using Scots in song showcased a wealth of young people’s talent and enthusiasm. I would like to thank Dr Allan for giving young people at Broughton this opportunity which they grabbed with both hands.”
The Scottish Government produced its own national Scots policy, which was developed in partnership with Education Scotland and launched by Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages, Dr Alasdair Allan. The Scottish Government and Education Scotland are working closely with and local authorities and other partners on taking forward aspects of the new Scots Language Policy.
Further information about the ‘Keen tae Ken yir Kin’ project is on the Education Scotland website.
* ‘Handsel’: A gift bestowed to commemorate an inaugural occasion, event or season, e.g. the beginning of the year, the first visit to a friend’s new home or the commencement of a new undertaking, the wearing of new clothes, etc., with the idea of bringing good-luck to the recipient.