THE DRAMATIC and harrowing stories of war, dungeons and weapons, or the warming tales of knights, princesses and the chivalric code are being brought to life at three Historic Scotland sites by P7 pupils dressed in costume.
Rather than simply visit the local castles, pupils at Doune and Claypotts primaries provide other visiting schools with peer guides.
Following in the footsteps of P7 pupils at Linlithgow Primary who, for the past few years, have provided the palace with skilled guides, the schools are training their senior pupils so that should a school want extra local knowledge, they can have it free. All a visiting school has to do is ask and these primaries will hand-deliver their specially trained pupils. According to the participating schools, the benefits outweigh any inconvenience.
Jane McManus, head at Doune, which has just finished training its guides, says: “It is good for confidence and talking skills. Initially, they have to learn an extensive script by heart, but then once their knowledge of the property is wider, we encourage them to improvise. These are great skills to develop.”
Su Clark
