The contribution of two major London-based publishers to books for Scottish schools was recognised last week when the annual Saltire Society award was presented jointly to Longman and Hodder and Stoughton. Rosalie Spottiswoode, Longman representative and one of the authors of the history series that won the Pounds 250 award, received it on behalf of her company.
John Mitchell, Hodder and Stoughton’s representative in Scotland and author of The TES Scotland’s monthly School Diary, accepted the other award at a ceremony in Glasgow during the annual book fair mounted by Saper, the Scottish educational publishers’ representatives.
The Longman series, A Sense of History, is aimed at primary pupils and adds titles with a Scottish interest to those intended for schools throughout the United Kingdom. For example, Rosalie Spottiswoode wrote one on “Homes in Scotland”.
The winning Hodder and Stoughton book by Valerie Thornton is Working Words - Scottish Creative Writing. Aimed at Standard grade and Higher pupils, it gives guidance on how to embark on original, creative writing, with examples of work by modern Scottish authors. Ms Thornton, a tutor in creative writing, said that judging from an encouragingly high level of sales it had struck a chord with teachers and pupils.
Sir Iain Noble, president of the Saltire Society, commended publishers who recognised the distinctiveness of the Scottish curriculum, and called on schools to be both more Scottish and more internationalist in their outlook.
