A scheme to help fund school trips to a number of key Scottish historical sites has been extended for a further year by Learning Minister Alasdair Allan.
The move came as part of a parliamentary debate on Scottish Studies within Curriculum for Excellence, a commitment which already has the support of the Scottish public and a number of cultural personalities and leading academics.
Dr Allan said:
“Today’s debate has given me the chance to talk in parliament about the Scottish Government’s commitment to strengthen the presence of Scottish history, literature, language and culture in the curriculum.
“Recent research shows that 90 per cent of the Scottish public are on board with the plan, and we’ve already had a productive meeting of the working group set up to look at the issue, which included the Makar Liz Lochhead and a number of leading academics.
“An important part of ensuring that our young people gain the knowledge and understanding of Scottish history, heritage and culture involves getting our pupils out and about to key sites. During the last academic year, over 20,000 young people throughout Scotland benefited from the Heritage Education Travel Subsidy scheme.
“The scheme includes the new Robert Burns’ Birthplace Museum, New Lanark World Heritage Site, Bannockburn and Edinburgh and Stirling Castles and I am very pleased to announce that we will continue to support the £150,000 scheme for 2012/2013.”
Jacquelyn Condie, a teacher at Tayvallich Primary School in Argyll, added:
“As a teacher in a small rural school on the West Coast of Scotland, I feel that we greatly benefited from the travel subsidy scheme, as it enabled us to visit sites which are so important to our children’s knowledge and understanding of Scottish history.
“We had a wonderful visit to the Bannockburn Heritage Centre and Stirling Castle, which was made extra special by their staff and the fantastic educational resources, which really brought history to life. My class thoroughly enjoyed the experience and have returned enthused about their project.”
