Caithness Schools Participate In MSPs Schools Project

Five Members of the Scottish Parliament are to visit a primary school in Caithness, this Monday 28th November, 2005.

As part of the ‘MSPs in Schools’ free outreach service for primary and secondary schools throughout Scotland, MSPs Jamie Stone, Maureen Macmillan, Jim Mather, Mary Scanlon, and Eleanor Scott will Pennyland Primary School in Thurso on Monday.

The aim of MSPs in Schools is to build links between young people, MSPs and the Scottish Parliament in ways that encourage meaningful involvement for all. Meeting a wide range of learning outcomes in Education for Citizenship, particularly in respect of knowledge and understanding, skills and active participatory learning, this project also supports the purposes of education set out in A Curriculum for Excellence.

Head Teacher Paul Hagan said: "The five MSPs are visiting our school on Monday morning to work with our P7 pupils. Most of the Outreach Service work before now has been with community groups and on occasions, with secondary schools. An Outreach Service representative has already undertaken workshop sessions with our P7s last week in preparation for the MSPs visit and our Primary 7 staff have been involved in preparation work with the children. The children will be questioning the MSPs on issues which they feel are important to them."

"Their visit to Pennyland is probably the farthest school north on the Scottish mainland which has been involved in the MSPs in Schools service."