In Rockfield School two classes, P5/4 mainstream and P7/6/5 Gaelic, have worked together to learn about the life of the ancient Drovers in Argyll.
They have worked in partnership with Joyce Gilbert from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and Sally Harkness, Storyline Scotland, with both classes following Sally’s world renowned Storyline Approach. It has been a wonderful example of Curriculum for Excellence at its best and a thematic approach to Social Studies.

The uniqueness of this study is that it was delivered in both English and Gaelic working alongside each other. Both classes have learned about Droving in Argyll and the old drove routes. They have made clay highland cows and held an auction, where their cows were bought and sold. They also learned about old money and used an old ledger from the auction mart.

On Monday the Drove was led by gaelic speaker, Euan MacLeod and it was a wonderful opportunity for total immersion in Gaelic for sixteen children from Rockfield’s Gaelic classes and a small herd of six Highland Cattle. Each child had their own droving stick and walked behind the cattle.

The aim was to give the children the opportunity to experience what is was like on a real live drove. When the drove finished and they reach the stance, the children made and ate bannocks, listened to and told stories in gaelic and sang traditional gaelic song. They also did a bit of dancing. This is exactly how the Drovers would have celebrated when they reached their stance.

It is interdisciplinary learning at its very best. Maths and Language skills are learned through the storyline in a real context and in a live experiential way. The children’s experiences are relevant, meaningful and challenging. The children from the gaelic classes taught gaelic phrases to their mainstream peers. They have planned and worked together in their learning. They relied upon each other in the same way that the ancient drovers would have done. This has helped to make their learning deeper and enabled links to be made across their learning. The mainstream children are hoping to do their own drove walk on the Island of Kerrera in the springtime.

We are grateful to Sally and Joyce for their wonderful support and the incredible fun that everyone has had.
Margaret Cain (Acting Head Teacher, Rockfield School)