Every two years at Lasswade High School we suspend the timetable for a week at the end of June and offer the pupils alternative activities as a reward for their efforts. 

It occurred to me that many of these activities involved exploring new areas of learning such as pottery, martial arts or horse riding. I pondered whether any pupils would be interested in learning elementary Gaelic. 

Teaching Gaelic myself would be too dry; too much like school lessons. It then occurred to me that Gaelic lessons would be far more appealing if delivered by Gaels in the Gaidhealteachd. All day language lessons would not be appropriate for pupils already exhausted by a year of study, so I imagined that the pupils could also go on excursions and be introduced to aspects of Gaelic and Celtic culture in the evenings. 

As far as I was aware, this would be the first time that pupils from a lowland school and not already studying Gaelic had travelled within their own country to learn about a language and culture of which too many Scots know virtually nothing.

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on Skye, enthusiastically expressed interest in delivering such a course. We proposed a visit for twenty pupils and two teachers. In spite of great interest from adults, I encountered enormous difficulty selling the idea to teenagers. In addition, many pupils in a lower income bracket could not even begin to consider going on such a trip, even if interested. We tried several times to get the project up and running but could never drum up enough interest. In despair I would have given up the idea, but the school management team encouraged me to give it one last go.

I felt strongly that pupils from poorer families, who may not get any holiday at all under normal circumstances, should not be denied this chance to broaden their horizons. On the Bòrd na Gàidhlig website I discovered that funding from the National Lottery was a possibility, particularly for young people under twenty-five and also for projects that help people learn about their own and other people’s heritage. After initial enquiries with lottery associated organisations to ensure that a request to such an organisation would be appropriate, Lasswade High School submitted its tentative application. We would have been grateful to receive anything at all, but expected nothing.

With its responsibility to protect public funds, ‘Awards for All’ meticulously ensured that everything in the application was accurate and initially returned the form with helpful explanations highlighting ambiguities. After resubmission, a letter arrived some eight weeks later stating that the National Lottery ‘Awards for All’ had granted the school £5000. This allowance was intended to pay for everything – tuition, accommodation, meals, travel and excursions. It meant that no pupil would be excluded on the grounds of financial difficulties. 

Following the funding award, places on the trip filled up within two days and I was soon off to Skye to make final arrangements with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. 

When the trip takes place this June, 2008, pupils will enjoy a full programme with Gaelic lessons every morning. In the afternoon they will go on excursions to the Clan Donald Centre, the Talisker distillery, Trotternish and the Museum of Highland Life as well as a shopping expedition to Portree.  

In the evening students will be introduced to the wider aspects of Gaelic and Celtic culture through lessons in step dance and Celtic instruments. Bòrd na Gàidhlig has kindly donated £1000 for the purposes of funding a cèilidh with another highland secondary in order that the Lasswade teenagers can meet up with Gaels of their own age group. Rosemary Ward, Education Officer at Bòrd na Gàidhlig will also come and speak to the group about the importance of sustaining and developing Gaelic.

While this trip is scarcely a footprint in the Gaelic revival, I would wish to see other schools make similar trips and would gladly advise them. I would also encourage anybody with a novel idea to pursue lottery funding if appropriate. Above all, my desire would be to engender a positive attitude towards Gaelic in my pupils. I do not expect them all to learn the language to fluency; I do not expect them to send their own children to Gaelic medium schools in the future. However if any of my pupils, once grown up, feels sufficiently motivated to speak out for Gaelic and other minority cultures when under attack, I shall have reached my objective.

James Forbes