Burgh Primary School – STEM Nation Award
To achieve the STEM Nation Award, Burgh Primary School embedded STEM across the curriculum through a wide range of engaging partnerships and initiatives. Pupils participated in hands-on projects such as DNA Hunters and Meet the Microbes with the University of Edinburgh, bridge building with Edinburgh College, and climate-focused workshops with STEMOVATORS and RAiSE. The school hosted Bright Future Fridays, inviting professionals to inspire pupils about STEM careers, and took part in the First Lego League Challenge, supported by DigitalXtra funding (we received £5000 funding). Teachers also engaged in STEM-focused CPD (Makedo) and STEM was in the School Improvement Plan. These efforts helped to promote positive perceptions of STEM, promoted equity, and developed learners’ meta-skills for life, learning, and work.
“We are incredibly proud to have achieved the STEM Nation Award for this Employablity and STEM Partnership Working —it’s a testament to the creativity, collaboration, and commitment of our whole school community. As we celebrate this success, we’re already looking forward to the next chapter: working towards the STEM Family Learning element, where we can continue to grow together and inspire lifelong learning.” Donna Hanley (Depute Headteacher Acting)
Clovenfords Primary School Named Apple Distinguished School 2025–2028
Clovenfords Primary School, located in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, has been recognised as an Apple Distinguished School for 2025–2028, celebrating its innovative use of technology to enhance learning, teaching, and creativity across the curriculum.
Apple Distinguished Schools are centres of leadership and educational excellence that demonstrate a clear vision for how technology-rich environments support learning goals. Clovenfords Primary School joins a select group of schools worldwide that are acknowledged for continuous innovation and a strong culture of digital learning.
Over the past several years, Clovenfords Primary School has embedded digital tools and approaches to empower pupils to think creatively, work collaboratively, and demonstrate their learning in meaningful ways. Through a combination of high-quality teaching, purposeful technology integration, and a commitment to equity and opportunity, the school has cultivated an environment where every learner can flourish.
Alison Saxon, Headteacher at Clovenfords Primary, said:
“We are delighted to be recognised for this prestigious award which has very much been a collective team effort! Every child in our school and nursery is important to us. Using digital technology as part of our approach to high quality teaching and learning further enables our ethos of equity and inclusion. Our staff are skilled in using a range of apps and digital accessibility tools. For all learners, technology enables personalisation and promotes creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These are relevant and meaningful skills that our children need in the 21st century. By harnessing digital technologies, we are equipping our young people to develop these essential skills in an integrated way.”
Pupils at Clovenfords Primary play an active role in shaping digital learning across the school. From coding and creativity to problem solving and digital citizenship, learners have developed strong confidence in using technology as a tool for thinking, making and sharing.
A Primary 7 pupil commented: “The iPads help because the teachers put our learning on there. They can do voice notes to help us. We are learning digital skills and collaboration skills and using apps helps us with our art skills and being creative. We are all leaders in P7, and we help the younger ones to learn how to use their iPads. Some of us run lunchtime groups like Micro:Bits and Indi Sphero groups.”
The recognition also highlights the close partnership between Clovenfords Primary School and the wider Inspire Learning programme in Scottish Borders Council, which supports consistent, high-quality digital experiences across all schools in the region.
Catherine Thomson, Quality Improvement Manager at Scottish Borders Council, said: “Becoming an Apple Distinguished School is an outstanding achievement for Clovenfords Primary School that highlights the school’s leadership in digital learning and its commitment to transforming experiences for children over the last few years. Through the Inspire Learning programme, staff and learners have developed powerful digital skills creative approaches to learning and a culture where technology drives curiosity, collaboration and high-quality outcomes. This recognition places the school among a global network of innovators, and we are proud to see the work of Clovenfords PS celebrated.”
Clovenfords Primary School will continue to develop its digital strategy and share its practice with schools across the local authority and beyond. As an Apple Distinguished School, it will contribute to national conversations about digital learning and serve as an example of how technology can transform learning experiences for children and young people.
Watch their digital transformation in action to see how Clovenfords Primary School has embraced technology to create an inclusive, innovative approach to celebrating learning: Clovenfords ADS
