The pupils and staff at Lochdonhead Primary School are delighted to hear that they are the winners of the Totally Active category for Scotland in the Total Green School Awards 2013. Our entry was about all the work we have done in our school grounds over the last year. We had to decide what we wanted to do with our grounds, work out how to achieve it, and we have ended up with a ‘story glen’ based on an old Gaelic tale ‘Iolaire Loch Treig’.

The pupils retold the story as Iolaire the sea eagle of Lochdon and various other creatures including Sean the stag, Jenny wren, Wizzle the water ouzle and Cammy the one-eyed trout. Each of these characters now has a home in our grounds, including a willow cave, a willow dome and a log circle. The children worked with lots of people to make this possible, including local businesses, artists, RSPB, the Forestry Commission, and a school in Harrogate who helped to make signs for us. We are very grateful to them all, as well as to QIOs for helping with funding for this project.

We are very pleased to have done so well in this national competition, and will be getting a certificate and a cheque for £500 for our school.