School Introduces Memorial Prize for Popular Pupil

Culloden Academy, Inverness, is to inaugurate a new prize in memory of a fifth year pupil who died in an accident last weekend. The Roddy Stewart Memorial Prize will be an annual award for Excellence in Expressive Arts.

A collection at Roddy’s memorial service at the school tomorrow (Friday) will contribute towards the funding of the prize.

Head Teacher Stephen Dowds said: “I have been very pleased to see the mutual support and developing resilience in our pupils this week. The assembly I did for senior pupils in the wake of this tragic accident was the most difficult of my career but I hope it helped pupils and staff deal with the acute sense of loss we all feel.

“We have supported this wherever we could and in a variety of ways, sometimes just by sheer instinct. Several pupils are contributing to the memorial service for Roddy, including our Head Girl, Rhian MacGillivary and Head Boy Niall Kennedy, and S6 piper Ross Thomson. 

“Music composed by Roddy for his coursework has been arranged for performance at the service. The most recent version of our termly magazine of achievements, OSCAR published last week, carries two pieces written by Roddy. That will mean that his creative writing can also play a part in the memorial.  Working with his family Alasdair, Rhona and Eilidh, we will take the first steps to creating an annual award for Excellence in Expressive Arts. The collection on the day will go towards funding this award. Their openness, courage and public spiritedness, in alerting parents to what could easily happen to any young person these days, is so commendable. They are remarkable people.”
 
The school has arranged video links within the building to allow as many pupils to be part of the memorial as possible.