Scotland’s top young photographers snap up prizes

Parris Wilson (aged 11) and Megan Robertson (aged 14) have won the Scottish Civic Trust PhotoArch competition 2012.  Their winning photos were chosen from over 630 entries submitted by primary and secondary schools across Scotland.  Prizes and certificates for the winning, commended and highly commended entries were presented by Derek Mackay MSP, Minister for Local Government and Planning at a special ceremony on Tuesday 27th March at The Lighthouse, Glasgow.

Anyone interested in taking part in the 2012-13 competition should contact Abigail Daly abigail.daly@scottishcivictrust.org.uk

View the young people’s work here: Award winners 2012

Parris and Megan’s photographs, along with all the entries, will be on view to the public for four weeks at The Lighthouse, before going forward to represent Scotland at the International Heritage Photographic Experience exhibition in more than 40 countries.

PhotoArch encourages young people to take an interest in buildings, archaeology and heritage.  Sites under the lens have included everything from atmospheric ancient ruins to ultra-modern flats, spanning castles, schools, homes, shops, churches and factories, to name a few.

The judges though that Parris’ shot of her school’s boiler house, silhouetted against the sky was bold and unusual.  Parris said: “I didn’t notice the cross shape until I was showing my photography to my teacher, who noticed it. I just thought I would photograph the chimney at school.  I didn’t expect to win!”
PhotoArch, which began in 2004, expanded last year to allow entries from secondary schools.  Megan, a pupil at Mackie Academy in Aberdeenshire, photographed a stairwell in Aberdeen University and impressed the judges with her striking composition.  She said: “I was having a little wander in old Aberdeen and when I saw this spiral staircase I wanted to go up it but I wasn’t allowed, so I had to think of a different way to take the picture.”  She added “I want to be a photographer now and on car journeys I keep seeing buildings and thinking they would make a good picture.”

The judges for PhotoArch 2012 were Ruth Parsons, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland; Ray Entwistle, Chair of the Scottish Civic Trust; Robin McClory, Director at ADF Architects; and Julia Horton, journalist for the Times Educational Supplement Scotland.

Ruth Parsons, Chief Executive of Historic Scotland, said;
“The breadth of imagination shown by the entrants has been exceptional. The PhotoArch competition clearly brings out the very best in our young people, inspiring remarkable creativity and offering new perspectives and new interpretations on buildings and monuments that have a special place in our communities.”

Ray Entwistle, Chair of the Scottish Civic Trust, said;

“The PhotoArch competition is a great way to get children thinking about the places and spaces that surround them.  Once again, we had many excellent entries from pupils of all ages, showing originality, inventiveness and an eye for detail. PhotoArch goes from strength to strength with a record number of entries this year and submissions from both primary and secondary schools.”

PhotoArch is supported by Historic Scotland.

PhotoArch is also supported by Architecture + Design Scotland, ADF Architects, Holmes Miller, Glasgow Institute of Architects, Morgan McDonnell Architecture Ltd.

Primary School Category

Winner

Parris Wilson (age 11) “The Boiler House pipe” Howdenburn Primary School, Scottish Borders

Highly Commended

Holly Taylor, age 9 “No one home”, St Mary’s Primary School, Stirling

Olly Carr, age 9 “Sun on Sand”, St Mary’s Primary School, Stirling

Sara MacDonald, age 9 “Railing reflections”, Langside Primary School, Glasgow

Commended

Steven Taylor, aged 12 “The steeple” Southesk Primary School, Angus

Kira Renilson, age 11 “The Cross”, Howdenburn Primary School, Scottish Borders

Daniel Shrimpton, age 11 “Wind chimes”, Abernyte Primary School, Perth and Kinross

Secondary School Category

Winner

Megan Robertson, aged 14 “Staircase to a fairytale”, Mackie Academy, Aberdeenshire

Highly Commended

Sam Wood, age 15 “Duart Castle, Mull”, Woodfarm High School, East Renfrewshire

Murray Angus, age 16 “George Square Fairground”, Strathaven Academy, South Lanarkshire

Nicholas Hamilton, aged 17 “Princes Peacock”, Strathaven Academy, South Lanarkshire

Marlon Bozic, age 12, “Corner”, Fairview Secondary School, Perth and Kinross

Enter the national billboard design challenge

Education Scotland has launched a national challenge for learners to design a double-sided billboard to be seen by people entering and leaving Scotland.

The design challenge is being run through the Marks on the Landscape website <http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/marksonthelandscape/index.asp> , an interdisciplinary learning resource focussed on creativity skills, within the learning context of the land regeneration project Fife Earth.

The challenge is aimed at those working within second, third and fourth curriculum levels. It could be incorporated into planning for a number of curriculum areas including art and design, social studies, religious and moral education, technologies and sciences, and the themes of sustainability and global citizenship.


http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/newsandevents/educationnews/2012/educational/march/news_tcm4713582.asp

First stitch on record-breaking Great Tapestry of Scotland


On Friday 23 March the first stitch on what is believed to be the longest embroidered tapestry in the world was sewn at the Scottish Parliament by the Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick MSP. The Great Tapestry of Scotland will illustrate the history of Scotland and will involve hundreds of volunteer stitchers. It is one of the biggest community arts projects in the world and Holyrood will exhibit the completed record-breaking 141-metre-long embroidered tapestry in August 2013.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/newsandmediacentre/48807.aspx

Midlothian youngsters in the frame at SQA’s Art Open Day


Creative school pupils and artists from community groups across Midlothian gathered at Lowden, SQA’s new offices near Dalkeith, to see their work exhibited for the first time. The artwork, which decorates the meeting rooms and public spaces at Lowden was created as part of the Midlothian Art Challenge competition.


http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/48646.html

The competition encouraged pupils from local primary and secondary schools and members of community art groups to stretch their creative skills and produce a piece of work inspired by a famous Scot. The exhibition included caricatures, portraits, landscapes, abstracts and collages which represent Scottish icons including Robert Burns, designers Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald, patriot Sir William Wallace and Sir James Young Simpson, the physician who discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform.

International Science Festival with University of Edinburgh

Discover science with real scientists from University of Edinburgh for fun, family-friendly hands-on activities, workshops and shows from 1 – 15 April.
Free drop-in activities run daily 10am to 5pm – no tickets required. Ticketed workshops and shows are on the dates below and some are free!

Tickets are available from the Science Festival box office 0844 557 2686 or, if there are tickets left, during the event at the Science Festival ticket desk in the Museum.

Drop-in activities

Free! No tickets required. Drop in to Level 2 of the Museum Learning Centre any time 10am – 5pm. For all ages, although some activities are unsuitable for very young children.

SCI-FUN

A wide range of hands-on science exhibits for a wide range of people! Find more SCI-FUN activities on Level 4 too.

6-10 April

CSI at the Museum

There has been a crime at the Museum! Use Chemistry and Maths to solve it.

1-5 April

Higgs or no Higgs?

That’s the big question for Particle Physics in 2012.

1-10 April

Human and Animal Medicine

Discover what Med and Vet scientists are doing to keep people and animals healthy.

11-15 April

Our Earth

Explore some of the forces which shaped our earth, and how we can protect it.

1-5 April

Microworld

Find out how biologists use microscopes to make discoveries, and have a go yourself!

6-10 April

Pop-up Engineering

Make pop-ups – ingenious engineering mechanisms where flat cardboard shapes spring into exciting 3D models.

1-5 April

Workshops

Tickets required. Museum Learning Centre Level 4.

Life Through a Lens

Travel back through time to meet the first scientists, get hands-on with microscopes and make your own scientific discoveries!

13, 14, 15 April, 11.30am and 2pm

Age 8+

Tickets £3

Duration 90 minutes

Shows

Free! Tickets required. Museum Auditorium and George Square Theatre.

The Chemistry Show

Paul Murray returns with exciting experiments and some laughs. You might even learn something!

1-5 April, 11am

All ages

Duration 45 minutes

Museum auditorium

The Senses Show

Discover with the SCI-FUN team, how our brain interacts with our senses, and how things are not always as they seem.

6, 9, 10 April, 2pm

7 April, 11am

Age 8+

Duration 45 minutes

Museum auditorium

Dr Bunhead’s Bigger Bang Theory

In the beginning was the word, and the word was BANG! TV’s most extreme scientist, Dr Bunhead, investigates the science of bangs, burps and whooshy bits. Audience volunteers help launch rockets, blow up Barbie and detonate Sponge Bob Rectangle Pants.

7-8 April, 3pm; 9 April 11.30am

£5.50 child, £4.50 adult,  £18 family ticket

Age 7+

Duration 1 hour

George Square Theatre

CfE and the Glasgow International Festival Conference for Teachers

Sat 28th April 2012

Curriculum for Excellence and the GI Festival – An NSEAD Conference for Teachers

Artist Teacher Programme, School of Education, University of the West of Scotland

Location: Tramway, 25 Albert Drive, Gasgow G41 2PE

10.30am – 6pm

In partnership with The National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) and University of the West of Scotland (UWS) Artist Teacher Programme, this event is designed for primary and secondary teachers of art, craft and design.  Presentations during the event will focus upon the experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence and will include presentations from Sheila Page HMIe\Education Scotland on Creativity in the art and design curriculum, the staff and young artists of Room 13 from two Fort William primary schools will look at contemporary art and how it helps raise contemporary issues in the classroom and others in the field of arts education in Scotland and beyond including Paul Dash, Goldsmiths, Graham Jeffery, Diarmuid McAuliffe and Katarzyna Kosmala from UWS. The GI artist Graham Fagen will also contribute to the event.

Venue Website
http://www.nsead.org/cpd/conferences.aspx
Admission Fee

Day Conference and Festival Tour £45 – booking via the NSEAD website

Scottish Youth Parliament film competition on knife crime

Young people from West Dunbartonshire’s Y Sort it group will be taking their anti knife-crime message to a national competition, after impressing local school pupils with their short film on the consequences of carrying a knife.
Knife crime is a significant issue in many parts of Scotland. The Scottish Youth Parliament and the Scottish Government’s Community Safety Unit have worked together to deliver We-CTV, a project where young people use production events to learn the facts about knife crime and produce short films to spread the message to their peers.  The films are then entered into a competition.

The Early Intervention Team from West Dunbartonshire Council, who are local leads for the project, invited a number of local youth groups to take part.  Young people aged 12 – 18 years who attend the Tullochan Trust, Y Sort it and the Pulse youth activities all entered the local heat of the competition. The judges were primary 7 pupils from St Michael’s Primary School, Castlehill, who chose the Y Sort-it entry as the local winner.

Ronnie Harper, Early Intervention Officer at West Dunbartonshire Council said: “All three local entries were of a very high standard, but there can only be one winner and I am delighted that the Y Sort it group will now have the chance to showcase their talents at a national level. Knife crime is a very serious issue and the We-CTV project is an excellent way to get the message out to young people across the country that carrying a knife is never acceptable. I am confident that they can win and do West Dunbartonshire proud.”

The Y Sort-it group will now go on to compete in a national competition.  All competitors will attend a national event this week (22 March) at Hampden Stadium, where they will meet experts in knife crime and advertising, and be given a brief to create a new short film by the end of April.

The Scottish Youth Parliament will then host all of the competing films on their websitewww.syp.org.uk/wectv for a national public vote. The votes will be used to produce a shortlist of three and the overall winner will be chosen by a judging panel.

The results will be announced at an awards night at Oran Mor, Glasgow on May 31st. All ten regional winners will have their films premiered at the awards night.

Anti-sectarianism Song written and recorded by Primary School Choir


Studio time for St Anne’s Song http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/St+Annes+song.htm



Glasgow City Council reports that St Anne’s Primary School choir, recent recipients of the Ian Barrie Certificate at the Glasgow Music Festival for the second year running, have worked with a local song writer and penned the lyrics and melody for their song that tackles the issues of sectarianism, territorialism and gangs. Their song has been recorded at a local recording studio. The children hope that their song will be heard in their community and across the city.

Showcase your Creativity at this year’s SLF

Mark your diary for SLF 2012

SLF 2012 will be held on
Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 September 2012 in the SECC, Glasgow.

The theme for SLF 2012 is Creative Learning….Creative Thinking.

The Scottish Learning Festival 2012 will offer practitioners opportunities to learn more about the importance of creative skills for themselves and for their learners.  SLF 2012 will enable practitioners to develop skills and expertise to support creative learning and teaching across the curriculum through sharing information, highlighting innovation and showcasing best practice. SLF 2012 also provides continuing professional learning opportunities in line with recommendations set out in Teaching Scotland’s Future.

Call for Participation – submit your proposals by Friday 30 March

The Call for Participation is now open and full details of the theme along with an online submission form are available on the
SLF website <http://newsletters-ltscotland.org.uk/LQE-QHIV-3GU5HR-A4YQR-1/c.aspx> .