Category Archives: Queen’s Baton Relay

Glasgow 2014, Legacy 2014, Queen's Baton Relay

Latest Commonwealth Games News

June 27, 2014 K. Mayer

Queen’s Baton Relay

Today on day 13 the baton will be in Dundee and has already been spotted by Education Scotland staff (see below image).

Find out more about the batons exciting journey around Scotland and where you can join in here.

Festival Club Tickets

Tickets for the #Festival2014 Club are now on sale! This is your chance to party under the same roof as Team Scotland at Festival 2014’s official late night venue. We’ll have sets from Ibibio Sound Machine, Peatbog Faeries, The Treacherous Orchestra, Salsa Celtica, The Chills and more. Plus you can enjoy great DJs and treat yourself to a Festival 2014 Commonwealth cocktail!

Tickets available now from: http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/?s=festival+club?s=festival+club

Gift of the Games

Glasgow 2014 will share the first-hand thrill of world-class sport with 5000 of the most disadvantaged young people through a ground-breaking programme called Gift of the Games.

With just one month to go, Gift of the Games will ensure thousands of young people who otherwise may not have the opportunity, will now be part of an inspiring day out at Scotland’s biggest-ever sporting and cultural festival.

Young people from every local authority area in Scotland will experience the field-of-play action across a wide range of sports taking place throughout the Games, with transport and meals also provided. Games sponsors and Scotland’s business community are meeting the cost of Gift of the Games. The programme will be delivered through the grassroots network of Bauer Media’s charity, Cash For Kids. Bauer Media joins Glasgow 2014’s sponsor family as an Official Provider of Gift of the Games.

For more information please click here.

Glasgow Airport opportunity

Want to welcome the athletes as they arrive to Glasgow Airport?

Your group can be part of it! From 17 July until 22 July Glasgow Airport are looking for groups of children and young people to come in and give the athletes a warm Scottish welcome. If you are interested please email steven_marshall@glasgowairport.com with details of your group, number of members, age groups and your availability.

National Lottery Award Finalists

We are delighted to announce that Glasgow 2014 Legacy project Active East has been nominated for the National Lottery Award for Sport. The nomination recognises the work the project does using sport to raise the skills, confidence and wellbeing of young people throughout the east end of Glasgow. Active east have fostered fantastic collaboration among youth and sports organisations and made a difference to the lives of hundreds of young people. It would be great to have a Glasgow 2014 winner of this prestigious UK award, which is decided by public vote. Please vote for Active East and share the link with your friends and family.

Vote here before the 23 July and tweet your support @LottoGoodCauses using the hashtag is #NLAwards

More great seats have become available!

More great seats across a number of sports, including currently unavailable events, have been released. We’ve been able to reallocate these seats to sports fans now that we have final confirmation on the requirements of tour groups, participating nations and territories, sponsors and hospitality clients. We’ve also released a limited number of partial views seats for the Opening Ceremony, with views of the live action but not the big screen backdrop, priced at just £20.

Tickets can be purchased at the Glasgow 2014 Ticketing website or by calling 0800 458 2014 (freephone)

Please also note that reallocated seats will continue to be made available for public sale right up until Games Time so remember to keep checking the Ticketing website.

Follow Glasgow 2014 on Twitter for all the latest updates!

Pride House website

LEAP Sports are proud to be hosting a Pride House in Glasgow during the Commonwealth Games this summer. Located on Albion Street in the heart of the Merchant City, Pride House will play host to a range of sports, cultural and arts events which share as a common theme the vision of breaking down the social and personal barriers which discourage LGBT people across the country from participating in sports.

For full event schedule please visit Pride House website here

athletes, Equality and Inclusion, Glasgow 2014, Glow Meet, Queen's Baton Relay, Sport

Exclusively on Glow: The Athletes, Games and Queen’s Baton

June 3, 2014 K. Mayer

Over the next 3 weeks Game On Scotland is delighted to be able to present you with an exciting series of Glow Meets for learners to hear from top Scottish athletes and post their questions to them.
These sessions will include athletes such as Colin Gregor (Rugby 7s Captain), Eilish McColgan (athletics), Meggan Dawson-Farrell (wheelchair racer) as well as presenter and adventurer, Mark Beaumont.

Joining the first session tomorrow may also win you a Clyde Doll. The best question posted will be selected as the winner.

The following sessions will be on offer:

Meet the Athletes 1: Sport in a Global Context
4 June, 10.00 am
Register: bit.ly/1oBejJF

Join Colin Gregor, captain of the Rugby 7s Team, Audrey McIntosh, the first Scot to complete an Antarctic marathon and 100k run in just 3 days as well as Angie Malone, British Wheelchair Curling team and Bronze medal winner from Sochi 2014, to hear about their extraordinary achievements as well as their views on global issues such as gender equality and inclusion.

This session will be followed by:

Athletes Challenge Global Issues – Workshop
4 June, 11.00 am
Register: bit.ly/1mxSGVQ

Learners from St Blane’s Primary in Blantyre will begin the workshop by presenting their findings from research carried out on tribal conflict in Rwanda and sectarianism in Scotland. The presenting group will be taking questions from the Glow audience and posing a some questions of their own to challenge learners participating on Glow. Leaners will provide an opportunity to get involved in a comparative discussing focused on tribal conflict in Rwanda and sectarianism in Scotland.

Meet the Athletes 2: Preparing for the Games
9 June, 11.00 am
Register: http://bit.ly/meettheathletes1

Eilish McColgan (3000m steeplechase), Ailsa Wylie (hockey striker), Meggan Dawson-Farrell (wheelchair racer) and Sean Docherty (table tennis) will share their excitement about the Games with you and tell you what it takes to be at the top of your game. They are looking forward to meet you and answer the questions you may have for them live on Glow. See you all on the 9th June!

Mark Beaumont presents: The Queens Baton Relay!
16 June, 11.00 am
Register: http://bit.ly/queensbaton

This exclusive session will be presented live by Mark Beaumont from a school in Midlothian. Mark will share his rich experiences following the baton around all the 70 nations and territories and answer your questions as we go along. He will also introduce you to some special guests joining him that morning. This session is one you don’t want to miss!

The Team behind the Games: Meet the Glasgow 2014 Staff
20 June, 11.00 am
Register: http://bit.ly/glasgow2014staff

This is your chance to find out about the people who are involved in the organisation and running of the Games. You will receive insider information about a variety of aspects from the Games creators and be able to ask them the question only they will be able to answer.
Game On!

Your
Game On Scotland Team

Educational resources, Glasgow 2014, Queen's Baton Relay

Celebrate the Queen’s Baton Relay

May 12, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

The Queen’s Baton Relay returns to Scotland on 14th June and will tour all 32 local authorities over the following 40 days, before its arrival at the Opening Ceremony at Celtic Park on 23 July – it’s a great opportunity to get close to this Games icon and link it to your learning.

To help you play your part, Glasgow 2014 have created a free online kit for you, your community, school, family and friends. Be the loudest and proudest supporters by making up your own Queen’s Baton Relay megaphones, headbands, banners and more. Cut them out, colour them in and wear them when the relay comes past to support your local batonbearers. Cheer them on in style!

You can download the Supporters’ Kit from the Glasgow 2014 website here.

You can also find out when the relay will be in your area on Game On Scotland’s Information and route page.

Clyde, Competition, curriculum, Game On Challenge, Game On Scotland Plaque, Games Legacy, Glasgow 2014, International partnerships, Legacy 2014, Queen's Baton Relay, Sport, Uncategorized

Inchlair youngsters lead the way

May 9, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Isobel Edmond, Head Teacher of Inchlair Nursery School shares how youngsters have embraced the context of the Commonwealth Games and how this has had a tangible impact on learning.

The Game On Challenge has given our pupils the skills to try out new Sports. We are purchasing new equipment to ensure that the children can continue to develop their new skills in our wonderful outdoor play space. When the coaches are not available children can very ably organise equipment and ensure that their peers wait and take their turn. They could be the Sports coaches of the future.

There is a real noticeable increase in the confidence of children to apply learning to new situations. The Story of the birth of CLYDE, “Captain Bristle’s Thistles” really caught their imagination. From this they have had countless role play experiences using uniforms, telescopes, globes, flags, flower pots, thistles, climbing frames. We have noticed their play is more focussed and shared experiences give children more opportunity to talk and learn together during exciting, imaginative play activities. There can be no doubt that using the Commonwealth Games as a context for learning has added an exciting layer of experience which has enriched learning for all.

A year ago our pupils would mostly say they lived in Stenhousemuir not Scotland. A focus on the Commonwealth Games has made them very aware that they are Scottish. They recognise the saltire and call it the “X” factor flag. The baton relay has given them the opportunity to study Commonwealth countries, flags of the world, maps, and wild animals. Relations have sent them postcards from across the globe. Access to the internet and in particular the BBC coverage of the Queen’s Baton Relay has enabled children to see places for themselves which has made them much more aware of life beyond our own town. We have complied a short video which allows the children to share their learning.

As a school, we sponsor a child in Malawi. Our support means she can go to school. We sell Nursery Cookbooks to raise funds for this as part of our Enterprise project. As Malawi is part of the Commonwealth children have been interested in finding the country on the world map, recognising the flag and studying pictures of Rachael over the years. They see her home, a hut in a dry dusty garden. The fact that fascinates them most is that she never has any shoes. This has helped our pupils understand how fortunate they are to live in a country which recognises and values the importance of learning. They have been genuinely touched by the difference in lifestyle between Scotland and Malawi and are beginning to understand how fortunate they are.

We were thrilled to be part of the “Going for Glasgow” challenge. Our children have had the opportunity to take part in 12 sports activities. To develop the Legacy, children take our CLYDE toy to their after school activity classes. They take photos and display them in the Nursery along with posters from their sports classes. Hopefully this will encourage other children to join a new club. The children love to talk about CLYDE’S visits and Parents are fully engaged with this idea.

As an active nursery, we are committed to daily outdoor play and developing physical sports activities. Being part of the Game on Challenge this year has brought a real buzz and sense of excitement to the Nursery. There is a competitive spirit as older brothers and sisters tell us about what they are doing at school to complete their challenge. Our youngsters go home at night and share their learning with family and friends. A number of parents have been inspired by their enthusiasm and depth of knowledge.
The high spot of our year is receiving the award of a Game On Scotland Plaque by Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners’ Rights. This award has given staff, pupils and parents a great sense of achievement and pride in the excellent work being done.

We would really advise anyone who has not already registered their Game On Challenge to do so. It has been great fun here at Inchlair, and we look forward to reading what you have been up to!

Game On Challenge, Game On Scotland Plaque, Games Legacy, International Education, International partnerships, Queen's Baton Relay, The Commonwealth Class

Game On Scotland Plaques Go International

May 2, 2014 User deactivated Leave a comment

Trailblazers from a Highland primary joined in an online Commonwealth Games celebration with the first Canadian schools to get Game On Scotland awards.

Thanks to a virtual link up, Crown Primary School pupils in Inverness are able to swap experiences with three schools successfully being awarded Game On Scotland plaques in Toronto. Taking the total number of plaques awarded to over 100.

Crown Primary was the first worldwide to receive a Game On Scotland plaque, presented by Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison, last November so it was especially exciting for the youngsters to witness the first ever presentation of a Game On Scotland plaque abroad.

Ms Robison presented the schools with plaques on 1st May at Toronto’s Ryerson University. The Cabinet Secretary was on an official visit to Canada, coinciding with the Queen’s Baton Relay being in the country.

The awards and live link up came during a British Council-organised Commonwealth Sports Day in Toronto, a stopping point of the Queen’s Baton Relay. They are part of Commonwealth Class, a Supporting Legacy 2014 project, that is endorsed by Game On Scotland.

Inverness pupils and Canadian counterparts were able to put questions to the Cabinet Secretary as well as interact with Canadian athletes who will be coming to Glasgow to compete this summer.

The Highlands are twinned with Canada as part of the Support A 2nd Team initiative.

Ms Robison said: “It is fantastic to see the Game On Scotland precedent that was set so ably by Crown Primary School, being followed up today with these plaque awards in Toronto, among the first internationally.

“The Commonwealth Games is an inspirational springboard for learning activities around global citizenship, and encouraging young people to strive to be the very best they can be.

“Thanks to programmes like Commonwealth Class, and Support a 2nd Team, links can be forged across continents which I hope will endure as a lasting legacy beyond the Games.”

Game On Scotland provides a unique platform for schools and organisations to share their Commonwealth learning activities with an international audience. Over 700 schools and organisations across the globe have set themselves a challenge inspired by the sporting spectacle of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

It is so exciting to read of the creative and exciting learning opportunities for young people globally, to understand how the Commonwealth Games is an inspiration to them and gain insight into things which are important to them. There are so many really creative approaches to using the Commonwealth Games as a context for learning and we would like to share a few with you.

As a result of Game On Scotland, learners in Nyarach Primary School, Kenya will hold their first ever Sports day. In contrast, St. Francis Nursery and Primary School, Nigeria are keen to understand the importance of being part of Commonwealth. In the aspect of oneness, being connected together as part of the Global Village.

Bogra Zilla School in Bangladesh hope their links with a partner school will help them develop a deeper bond of brotherhood across the distance. There is a focus on Culture, of the educational ties between them as well as challenging one another in a mini games.

Milford School in Aukland, New Zealand are writing and performing a school production based on their journey to the Commonwealth Games. En-route, children will perform dances and musical items representing a range of countries as they investigate the true meaning of being involved in an event such as the Commonwealth Games.

Highgate International School in Cyprus have learners from 29 different nationalities. They are inspired by the Commonwealth Games to find out more about Scotland – its geography and rich history, putting famous explorers, inventors and sports stars in the spotlight.

With over 25 International partners representing a number of Commonwealth nations and territories already on the map there has never been a better time to make use of the advances in technology. There are fabulous opportunities for our learners to make connections with their peers around the world.

The British Council have over 80 years’ experience in promoting international cultural relationships whilst through BBC Commonwealth Class, learners from around the globe can link up to debate topical issues or embark on special projects.

Our message today is “it’s not too late to get involved!” Set your challenge where you are at, learners from Iochdar School, South Uist are particularly interested in the challenges facing rural communities across the Commonwealth. They want to encourage their community to develop a healthier lifestyle through a variety of physical challenges.

Whatever your challenge, big or small we would like you to share it with us giving your young people an opportunity to learn more about the values that shape our Commonwealth in 2014. In doing so, you can join Crown Primary, their Canadian partners and over 100 other education establishments in being awarded a Game On Scotland plaque in recognition of your achievements.

Clyde, Educational resources, Game On Challenge, Glasgow 2014, Glow Meet, Holly Cram, Legacy 2014, Queen's Baton Relay

Game On Scotland: 2013 in review

December 20, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

As we approach the final days before the year of the Games begins, it seems an appropriate time to provide an update on some of the achievements of Game On Scotland since its launch in May of this year. Over 1200 Scottish schools have already engaged with the programme in some way, along with numerous youth groups and organisations, and we’ve also engaged others from across the Commonwealth.

It’s certainly been busy and, of course, we expect it to get even busier in 2014, which is why we’re looking for some help. So before this year ends, let’s take a look back at some of 2013’s Game On Scotland facts and figures.

1st May 2013, Game On Scotland launch

It all started with a bang, as Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, joined Cllr Archie Graham from Glasgow City Council and David Grevemberg, CEO of Glasgow 2014, at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. With a helping hand from Clyde and Hillhead Primary School pupils, the Game On Scotland programme went live, with a particular focus on the Athletes’ Village Art Competition. This flagship competition still has a few places remaining for schools yet to sign up – register with us and your pupils’ artwork will appear in the bedrooms of the 6500 athletes and officials coming to Glasgow next year. Hurry though, the deadline for registration is 17th January (deadline for submission of artwork is 28th February).

Game On Challenge

279 schools and organisations have now told us about their Glasgow 2014 learning plans, by submitting their Game On Challenge. Although the majority come from Scotland, we now have 11 Commonwealth nations and territories represented, including St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha, one of the smallest territories in the Commonwealth.

We’ve also begun awarding Game On Scotland plaques to schools who are successfully demonstrating just how exciting the Games can be as a context for learning. Congratulations again to Crown Primary School in Inverness and to Comely Park Primary School in Falkirk for their achievements. Your school could be next, simply by telling us how you’ll be learning using the Games in a Game On Challenge entry.

Game On Scotland Ambassador

Just this month we were delighted to announce Scottish hockey star Holly Cram as the first Game On Scotland ambassador. As well as her athletic achievements, Holly is a qualified PE teacher and currently coaches at Dollar Academy. As we begin 2014, Holly will be taking part in Glow Meets, speaking at events and visiting schools to promote the Game On Scotland programme and the Games.

Learning Journeys

There are now 35 learning journeys available in the resources section of the site, covering all curricular areas and appropriate for all stages. These resources are designed to offer ideas to use with your class or group. To date, these resources have been downloaded over 20,000 times by teachers and educators – assuming that each resource is used with 20 learners, that could be 400,000 young people engaging with the Games!

Some of the most popular learning journeys so far have been:

CPD Events and Glow Meets

We’ve successfully delivered two national CPD events for teachers and educators, in Glasgow and Inverness, with at least one more to follow, likely to be in Dundee in February next year. Feedback has been outstanding, with 97% of delegates rating as either excellent or very good in terms of usefulness. Keep a look out for information on the next event, which will be released early in the new year.

We’re also midway through a programme of Glow Meets, with CPD events at the beginning of each month and events for learners at the end. We’ve linked each month to a curricular area and these events bring a particular focus to the Games as a context. Next up in the series is our “Maths/Numeracy and Game On Scotland” CPD session on 7th January.

Game On Scotland network

Although everything on the Game On Scotland site is freely available, we encourage teachers and educators to sign up to the network. As the programme is constantly evolving, with new information, resources and opportunities added on a regular basis, signing up ensures you can keep up! 3,500 have already joined our mailing list and receive the monthly updates we send, highlighting the latest content – join them by registering here.

Anything else?

Well we’ve also been helping Clyde to visit schools around the country, supporting engagement with the Queen’s Baton Relay and promoting all sorts of other education opportunities. It’s been a busy eight months, but there’s a lot more to come in the next eight as we set our sights on the largest multi-sport and cultural event ever to come to Scotland – if you haven’t already joined in the excitement, then sign up to play your part and get ready for Game On Scotland!

Glow Meet, Queen's Baton Relay, Technologies

Learning Zone Glow Meet: The Queen’s Baton Design

November 15, 2013 K. Mayer Leave a comment

Join us on Tuesday, 26^th of November (11am – 12noon) for the second of our Game on Scotland Technologies Glow meets. (Glow meet sign-up: http://bit.ly/gostechnologieslearningzone)

This session allows learners to:

– hear from the Queen’s Baton designer Will Mitchell (4cDesign) & share their own a baton design ideas

– find out more about the challenges of producing lawn bowls from Grant Heron Taylor bowls

– learn how they can get involved in the Scottish Engineering Special Leaders Award from Angela Greene from Primary Engineers.

In order for your learners to get involved most effectively in this session why not:

– Set your class a baton design challenge

– Prepare a 2 minute pitch of your idea to Will Mitchell from 4cDesign (Dragons’ Den Style) on the day.

Please register for the glow meet before the 26^th Nov. We will aim to have as many schools as possible involved in the challenge. For more information email Kirsty McFaul (DO Technologies) kirsty.mcfaul@educationscotland.gov.uk

Watch again!

If you missed last week’s excellent presentations from Will Mitchell and Adam Best (Queen’s Baton Relay Team, Glasgow 2014) you can watch this again here

Active, Educational resources, Games Legacy, Glasgow 2014, International Education, Queen's Baton Relay

New projects: Xtrayard and Get Scotland Dancing

November 14, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Game On Scotland is delighted to announce that we have just added two more projects to the Other educational projects section of the site. From the outset we’ve been keen to create a one-stop-shop for teachers and educators interested in learning using the Games, and the curation of other projects is an important part of this process.

Xtrayard is an online platform that encourages young people to take part in physical activity and track it on a virtual route. To celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games they’ve re-created the Queen’s Baton Relay route, which will allow your learners to journey around the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth by taking part in physical activity and eating healthily.

Get Scotland Dancing is a celebration of dance and an invitation for every person in Scotland to join in. As a Commonwealth Games Legacy programme, Get Scotland Dancing aims to get more people dancing in Scotland in 2014 than ever before. There’ll be a lot of different parts to the initiative as it develops, but broadly speaking they’ll be increasing opportunities to dance, promoting mass participation and developing young talent.

These are just the latest projects to be added to an already full programme, but Game On Scotland is a live programme and more materials will be added all the time – sign up to the network to make sure you’re the first to know about new opportunities.

Glasgow 2014, Queen's Baton Relay, Uncategorized

Make a Local Champion feel like a Commonwealth Champion

October 10, 2013 User deactivated Leave a comment

Yesterday (9 October 2013), the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay was launched at Buckingham Palace by Her Majesty the Queen, beginning its epic journey around the 70 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. It won’t be long before the baton returns to Scotland – and organisers want you to be part of its final journey!

The baton holding the Queen’s Message will cross continents, terrains and time zones. Once its has been around the Commonwealth it will come home to Scotland on 14 June 2014 to spend 40 days visiting communities in all 32 local authority areas. On 23 July 2014 the baton will be handed back to Her Majesty at the Opening Ceremony where the 288 day relay will conclude and the Games officially begin.

Glasgow 2014 organisers need up to 4,000 batonbearers to help carry the baton around Scotland on the final leg of its journey, helping to ensure the Games reach every person and every community in Scotland.

Opportunities don’t come much bigger than this to be involved in the Games and your help is needed to find community batonbearers.

You can nominate a family member, friend or someone you know for a position. Organisers are looking for people who have:

• made a positive contribution to the lives of others through community sport;
• undertaken voluntary work or contributed to schools or youth organisations;
• contributed towards greater inclusion for disadvantaged or marginalised sectors of the community;
• been a role model or mentor to young people through sport;
• displayed a level of individual achievement against the odds;
• made a significant contribution to their local community.

Nominations are open to anyone 12 years of age or above and nominations close at 5pm on 22 November 2013.

To find out more and to nominate someone see here and give Scotland’s local champions a thank you they will never forget.

Secondary Schools to get their own batonbearer!

Game On Scotland is delighted to support the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee in providing a unique opportunity for each secondary school, and each special school with pupils of secondary age, in Scotland. Each eligible school’s headteacher has been invited to nominate a pupil to carry the Queen’s Baton on behalf of their school, whilst the relay is in their Local Authority area. Find out more on the Game On Scotland website.