Pupils in the P5-7 class have been studying the Highland Clearances and Scottish Emigration through the novel, The Desperate Journey by Kathleen Fiddler. This inter-disciplinary project has brought together drama, art, music and literacy as well as learning about the lives of the Highland people 150 – 200 years ago. Model crofts were made of clay then thatched using dried grass and rashes from the fields.



The pupils have developed their research skills and found out about emigration ships leaving Campbeltown in the 1850s. They have created their own emigration posters to encourage poor Highlanders to seek a better life in the colonies of the time. They have written their own lament which would have been sung on the ships as they left Scotland. Further research uncovered living and working conditions for children in the cotton mills of Glasgow. A trip to Auchindrain Township Museum gave the pupils a glimpse into crofting life. An Open Day is planned for May where the work, photographs and films the children have produced will be displayed for parents and the wider community. Bannocks, oatcakes and tattie scones made on a griddle will be on offer along with a wee cup of tea.

Pupils have been engaged in their learning throughout the project and have asked that it be continued into the new term when we can look into the new lives the characters make for themselves in Canada. This will tie in with the work we have planned for the Commonwealth.