A Midlothian secondary school has been awarded £5000 by Awards for All (Big lottery funding) for the purposes of taking a group of young people aged 12 to 16 to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Gaelic College on the Isle of Skye in order to increase their awareness of Gaelic language and culture. 

When the trip takes place in June, it is anticipated that the pupils from Lasswade High School will receive Gaelic lessons in the morning. In the afternoon they will go for an excursion and in the evening they will be introduced to some aspect of Celtic culture. None of the young people has any knowledge of Gaelic at present.

Modern languages teacher James Forbes who first conceived the idea and is now coordinating the venture said:

“As far as we are aware, this is the first time that teenagers from the lowlands have travelled within their own country to learn about a language and culture which is not on their curriculum. We are all extremely grateful to Awards for All for making this trip financially accessible to all.”