Stone carving and masonry skills for Dingwall pupils

Pupils from Dingwall Academy are learning new craft skills this week as a team from Historic Scotland are running workshops at the school in stone carving and masonry as part of a special Mercat Cross project.

Since the start of the year Dingwall Academy Art and Design Department has collaborated with the Dingwall Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) to develop a design competition to raise pupils’ awareness of the town’s historic built environment.

250 S3 pupils have produced imaginary designs for a 21st century Mercat cross for Dingwall High Street. They have been asked to envisage the cross as a meeting place for Dingwall's young people incorporating a plinth constructed from local stone.

Local Councillors, Margaret Paterson and Angela MacLean, visited the school today to see how the workshops were going.  Cllr Paterson said:  “The pupils were really excited to have this opportunity to get hands-on practical experience of working with stone.  The team from Historic Scotland had brought with them a wide array of tools and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some of the young people go on to become stone masons.”

Councillor Angela MacLean added:  “This is a great example of a partnership with the school, Historic Scotland and CARS and I am really impressed how keen the pupils were to have a shot and learn new skills.  They really have enthusiastically embraced the whole Mercat Cross project and I am looking forward to seeing their creative designs in the exhibition next month.”

The winners of the Mercat Cross competition will be announced on Friday 14 June and up to 30 of the competition entries will go on public display at Dingwall Town Hall on Saturday 15 June.

Dingwall CARS is a heritage-led regeneration project promoting awareness-raising and investment in the historic environment. It runs until 2016 with funding from Historic Scotland, the Highland LEADER 2007-2013 Programme, and the Highland Council.