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Rural Skills Partnership

As part of the new curriculum at Wallace Hall Academy pupils going in to senior school (S4-S6)were offered the chance to study a new practical course delivering Rural Skills. (See also the Queensberry Initiative)

The course was designed for pupils who may want to go on and work in any of the land based industries when they leave school or for those wishing to study related topics at college or university. Over thirty pupils signed up for this exciting new course. The main appeal is that pupils really do get their hands dirty!

Every week two separate groups don boiler suits and safety wellies and spent half a day at various sites across Buccleuch Estates. Activities to date have included milking cattle, moving stall, dosing cattle, clearing paths and repairing walkways on the estate, looking after mountain bike tracks, earmarking sheep and catching, collecting and counting pheasants!

School and estate staff have planned and delivered activities for the duration of the one year course and pupils then undertake classroom activities to back up what they are doing. Staff from Barony College are also involved as consultants for the new course and on successful completion of the course pupils will gain an Intermediate 1 qualification.

Even at this early stage the school is seeing the great value of this course. Not only does is provide practical experience for young people interested in a career on the land it offers a chance to interact in a very positive way with members of the community and with a major local employer. It appeals to many pupils who prefer to learn in an outdoor environment undertaking real work activities rather than the more traditional book based education provided in the classroom. Pupils are developing respect for and a real interest in their countryside that we all hope will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

In the longer term it is hoped that even more pupils will see the local opportunities for work on their own doorstep – rural depopulation and especially the drain of the young and talented people of Dumfries and Galloway is a serious issue and this is just one small step in an effort to reverse this trend.