Royal Wedding Celebrations In Highland Schools
27th April 2011
Over thirty schools in the Highlands will be celebrating the wedding of HRH Prince William to Catherine Middleton on 29 April with organised events and activities involving over 4,000 pupils, teachers and local communities.
Many schools are organising mock weddings, various street parties, and wedding feasts. Other activities following a royal or wedding theme include art and crafts to create decorations, clothing, hats, crowns and fascinators; quizzes, cake making and mapping of the royal wedding route.
In Caithness, Pulteneytown Academy in Wick is putting on an exhibition of wedding dresses and wedding photography for the public and Castletown Primary School in Thurso will parade through the local streets following a P1 mock bride and groom transported in a Shetland pony and trap.
Pupils at Helmsdale Primary School in Sutherland are having a Kings and Queens's day and royal quiz with prizes for the best dressed-crown and quiz.
In the Ross area, there will be a street part at Badcaul Primary by Garve, and Tarradale Primary is organising a mock wedding with a three course Royal Lunch after the proceedings.
Pupils at Raasay Primary School will be celebrating the Royal Wedding in a unique way by taking a cruise on the Waverley Steamer around their Island on Friday with local parents and members of the community. Nearby on the Isle of Skye, Portree High School is having a dress up day and hoping to raise £500 for their local "Lucky to be Here" charity.
Many pupils and teachers will be dressing up for the occasion in wedding attire including a top hats and tiaras event at Balloch Primary in Inverness.
In Badenoch and Strathspey pupils at Grantown Primary School are creating wedding cakes in each class out of tiers of 300 cupcakes that the schools canteen is baking and the pupils will decorate. Meanwhile at Kingussie Primary pupils will celebrate the Royal wedding in Scottish-style with a ceilidh and bagpiping.
The following schools are happy to receive publicity for their events:
· Brora Primary School (school roll 90) - are dressing for the occasion, toasting the couple at 11am, and each class has a task to decorate the school hall, make invitations, set and decorate tables, act as waitresses and waiters at an organised a lunch with banquet tables. A seamstress will also be giving lessons in wedding dress design for older interested pupils.
· Castletown Primary School, Thurso (school roll 123) - a Primary 1 bride and groom couple will be parading through the streets of Castletown on a Shetland pony and trap followed by the whole school after a mock wedding ceremony at 9:30am on Friday morning. Children from all classes have been allocated several roles and parents and friends have been invited. The school will then be having a 'street party' lunch (after speeches from the wedding party) followed by an afternoon of Scottish Country dancing.
· Helmsdale Primary School (school roll 45) - are having a Kings and Queens Day. Children can dress up as a royal personage with a prize for best crown. There will also a royal quiz of 20 royal-related questions.
· Hilton of Cadboll Primary (school roll 83), is having a whole school wedding theme for at least this week with lots of different activities. On Friday 9am to 10am they will be sharing what work has been done, at 11am they will be watching the Royal Wedding and continuing with the themed work and at 12 noon they will be going to the Seaboard Hall as wedding guests for a wedding lunch where the children will be piped into the hall which will be set up as a real wedding venue. Each class will be giving their wedding wishes to Prince William and Kate .This will be followed by a reception with social dancing and parents will collect the children at 2.45pm from the hall.
· Pulteneytown Academy (Primary School), Wick (school roll 204) - are doing a number of things to celebrate the Royal Wedding including:
· Displays of wedding dresses and wedding photographs are open to family and friends each afternoon this week which include a display of 20 wedding dresses dating from the 1920's up to 2004 put together by Depute Head, Mrs Budge.
· Anne Dunnett, Lord Lieutenant who is on the school's Parent Council has donated a copy of her actual invitation to The Royal Wedding to the school along with a copy of the information booklet which is sent to guests and she has promised to visit the school and tell the children all about her experiences when she returns home.
· The hall is decorated with bunting and flags and on Friday we are having a special 'street party' lunch for all the children complete with wedding music.
· Everyone is getting dressed up in party or special occasion clothes and will watch parts of the wedding on the television in their classroom.
· A wedding cake has been ordered with William and Kate's pictures and the school will take afternoon 'tea and cake'.
· All classes have been learning about how weddings are celebrated and our P7 class is planning their own wedding this week.
· Reay Primary School (school roll 50) - pupils will be taking part in a street party with a finger buffet. The pupils will work in teams on art and craft activities, including designing and painting a commemorative plate and clothing for the Queen to wear at the wedding. They will produce panels of art work on fabric to make a wedding wall hanging and take part in a Royal-themed team quiz.
· St Duthus Special School, Tain (school roll 14) - are having a Garden Party (weather permitting) with a special picnic lunch for pupils including biscuits with red, white and blue icing. Older pupils will spend the morning preparing a lunch for staff (which is an extension of our usual enterprise, SoupShop) giving the pupils the experience of preparing a more celebratory meal.
· South Primary School, Wick (school roll 77) - the school is preparing for the Royal Wedding with children colouring flags and making bunting to decorate the Hall. On Friday they are having a real wedding flavour to the day with everyone dressed in wedding gear and paying £1 to the Royal Couple's charities. Judging of the "Design a Commemorative Plate Competition" for each class will also take place and prizes will be awarded. There will be a Wedding Buffet Lunch and the opportunity for all to view the wedding and each class will have a party in the afternoon - with games and dancing.
· Wick High School (school roll 749) - is having a Royal Wedding Fun Day. For a small donation, pupils will be encouraged to wear 'royal' attire. This could range from simply a crown or tiara to a wedding dress with a prize for the best dressed pupil which will be awarded at lunchtime. There will be a concert at break and a royal lunch buffet lunch at which the school band, 'The Chicken Pickers' will play. The Royal Wedding will also be streamed live in the main hall for all pupils to watch.
ROSS, SKYE AND LOCHABER
· Badcaul Primary School, By Garve (school roll 13) - is organising a street party in the school playground for the local community, school and nursery for the Royal Wedding. Children are coming dressed in party clothes. Everyone is welcome - just bring a plate of food. The school will be covered in bunting thanks to supportive parents. Children will play games and make speeches and there will be live music. The party is from 2pm to 3:15pm.
· Banavie Primary School, Fort William (school roll 140) - will be holding their own royal wedding on Thursday 27th April . Each class has taken on the organisation of part of the ceremony including: cake decorating, flowers, bunting, ring making, wedding favours, invitations, and speeches. In the afternoon they are having a ceilidh
· Ferintosh Primary School by Dingwall (school roll 32) and Mulbuie Primary at Muir of Ord (school roll 54) - In both schools the children and staff are coming to school dressed for a wedding. We plan to watch it on BBC iPlayer in the morning and in the afternoon we are having a ceilidh in the hall followed by a garden party of juice and cake.
. Glencoe Primary (school roll 18) is arranging a Royal Wedding Event and inviting Duror Primary (school roll 17) and also St Brides Primary (school roll 19) to join in the celebrations. A member of staff is baking a two tier wedding cake and the children are all arriving dressed for a wedding with their home made fascinators and button holes. They hope to erect a marquee for the celebration.
· Kinlochewe Primary School (school roll 12) - is having a wedding lunch buffet with parents, bunting, balloons, and a royal family team quiz in school on Friday.
· Marybank and Strathgarve Primary Schools - Marybank Primary School (school roll 30) will be holding their own wedding when two of the nursery children (Prince Struan and Miss Ellie) are being 'married' in role play. All the staff, children and parents are coming in their best outfits; a party is to be held after the ceremony with cakes, sandwiches and juice. A dance is to follow and then they hope to watch the other wedding. Pupils at Strathgarve Primary School (school roll 19) are having a party with food and a dance. They will also be watching the Royal wedding.
· Maryburgh Primary School (school roll 84) - will be celebrating the Royal Wedding with their own mock wedding with a Primary 2 girl officiating as Minister. P1/2 have organised the event for the whole school to attend. They designed and sent out invitations, girls designed and made hats and buttonholes and the boys to made flags and buttonholes. All classes helped to make bunting. Five bridesmaids made their own flower baskets to carry and the janitor made a beautiful archway where the happy couple will be 'married'. Tesco has donated a wedding cake. There will be a P6 bagpiper, two photographers from P5 and 6 and two P7 boys in charge of the music.
· Portree High School (school roll 598) - is having a dressing up day! All pupils are to dress up as if invited to the wedding and by doing so to fund-raise for our local "lucky to be here" charity. The local paramedics have trained all our senior pupils in heart start and defibrillation during their off duty. Head Teacher Catherine MacDonald said: "We would like to give something back to them and are hoping to raise £500 on Friday. If everyone pays a pound then we should meet our target."
· Raasay Primary School (school roll 17) - is going to be celebrating the Royal Wedding on the Paddle steamer 'Waverley', as they take a cruise round the Island of Raasay on the day. They will be celebrating by making bunting and flags to take on board. Many islanders and parents will be stepping aboard with them.
Wilma Duncan, Head Teacher of Raasay Primary School said: "The Queen often cruised around Raasay when she used to visit the Hebrides from the 1950's onwards and she used to land at Inver beach on the island. So it is quite apt that Raasay Primary School is celebrating in this Royal way!
"Few if any schools get the chance of such a wonderful opportunity to see their island from every direction. This will tie in very well with our topic work next session; when we are hoping to do a local study of the island - celebrating all aspects."
· Tarradale Primary School (Muir of Ord) (school roll 214) - has organised its very own Royal Wedding to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The whole school and nursery have worked together to organise the event. Each class has been involved in some aspect of the organisation and in the making of the various features of the wedding - from creating the invitations, making the wedding cake, constructing flowers and favours, designing and making table decorations for the "Royal Lunch" and organising a Wedding Reception. The bride and groom have been chosen from Primary 1 and our Minister is coming into officiate at the "dramatised wedding ceremony." Staff and children are invited to dress up for this very special occasion! In conjunction with Highland Council's catering services there will be a Royal Lunch Menu:
Starter: Wedding Celebration Toast - a choice of fresh fruit drinks to toast the happy couple.
Main: Princess Platter - Prime Roast Beef complimented with a rich gravy, roast potatoes and vegetables, or
King Edward Baked Potato served with salad with a choice of filling of Coronation Chicken or Cheese.
Dessert: Raspberry Royale -Vanilla Ice Cream crowned with a homemade Raspberry Caulis
INVERNESS, BADENOCH AND STRATHSPEY
· Aldourie Primary School, Inverness (school roll 37) - pupils are invited to come to school dressed for a wedding! In the morning they will take part in a variety of activities including decorating a fairy cake; plotting the wedding route through London; working out the Royal family tree and then watching the wedding. Pupils will have a finger buffet and fizzy water to toast the Royal bride and groom!
· Balloch Primary School (school roll 239), Inverness - Tops Hats and Tiaras - pupils are being encouraged to dress up for the wedding day as if they were attending
· Bishop Eden's Primary School, Inverness (school roll 56) - is having a whole day of celebration. They will be decorating the hall for a mock wedding. Bishop Mark is attending and Primary 1 pupils are the bride and groom. All the school community is dressing up. The school will then watch the Royal wedding followed by a picnic lunch with a ceilidh and wedding cake made by one of the staff auxiliaries in the afternoon.
· Cauldeen Primary School, Inverness (school roll 169) will be having a Wedding Day of events and activities suggested and chosen by the pupils including:
· Come dressed up as a guest or Prince or Princess;
· bunting, flags and decorations made by the pupils will be displayed around the school;
· pupils will watch the wedding on Smart Board big screens in their classes;
· at lunch (12.30) they plan to have seated dinner all together with tablecloths and table decorations where they will be having a roast beef or chicken dinner with all the trimmings followed by trifle. Pupils will toast the happy Royal couple with fizzy apple juice in champagne glasses; and
· after lunch they will be having a disco, cutting a cake and throwing the bouquet.
Acting Head Teacher, Lesley McPherson said: "During the lead up to the wedding, pupils will be designing a wedding dress, making crowns, decorations and memorabilia."
· Grantown Primary School (school roll 237) - children will be dressing up as if for a wedding and wearing hats of their own creation on Friday. The theme for the hats is 'hats around the world'. The canteen is providing 300 cupcakes, which the children will decorate and then each class will create their own 'wedding cake' made up of the cupcakes. After the Royal wedding ceremony, in time with the couple's appearance on the balcony, the school will gather in the hall to propose a toast to the Bride and Groom (the children are writing their own 'toasts' to William and Kate), and eat a piece of wedding cake and drink some juice.
· Holm Primary School, Inverness (school roll 226) - will all be dressed for a wedding (boys are making and wearing buttonholes and girls are all making and wearing hats). They hope to watch part of the service and are decorating the playground with bunting. School's cook is preparing a wedding lunch of roast beef for the whole school, P7 have made menus and P3 have made table decorations. In the afternoon they will have a traditional Scottish dancing followed by a disco.
· Kilchuimen Primary School, Fort Augustus (school roll 62) - will be role-playing their own wedding when Primary 1 pupils James and Julina will tie the knot in Fort Augustus Church at 9.30 on Friday 29 April. Pupils will act as ushers, bridesmaids, and the father of the bride, Ruraidh will give the bride away. Local retired Minister Rev. Varwell will be officiating and the pupils and staff will return to school to watch the Royal Wedding, and have a wedding breakfast in the hall with speeches and a cake. Parents and carers have also been invited. Head Teacher Wendy Scollay said: "We have all dug out our best hats and outfits for the day so it should be lots of fun! Some of our pupils are photographers and will be marking the happy day's celebrations which we will finish off by having a ceilidh in the afternoon."
· Kingussie Primary and Nursery (school roll 110) - are organising a Kingussie Royal Wedding Celebration on Friday. This involves: all staff and pupils coming to school dressed in wedding regalia, a picnic lunch supplied by the canteen, the watching of the wedding on large screens and an afternoon ceilidh to give the celebrations a Scottish flavour. School piper, Lewis Barclay will pipe the children in and out.
· Merkinch Primary School, Inverness (school roll 294) - pupils and staff will all be going to school dressed for a wedding and they will be having a wedding banquet. Each class is organising a part of the wedding banquet i.e. menu, favours, flowers etc. They are hoping to watch the wedding in the classes.
· Strathdearn Primary School, Tomatin, Inverness (school roll 49) - is planning to learn about the royal family, watch the wedding and then have a 'street party' in the afternoon. Pupils and teachers will be dressing up and having a special buffet lunch followed by a disco with bubble machine.
More Schools Celebrating
Beauly Primary School, Inverness (school roll 105) - pupils and staff will be coming to school on Friday dressed for a wedding. Staff have planned a number of fun filled and learning opportunities for the pupils such as: designing a wedding invitation; designing an outfit for the bride and groom; making and decorating crowns and tiaras; making and designing orders of service and menus; interactive maths such as adding, subtracting and multiplying ingredients for a wedding cake; literacy, writing instructions on how to make a wedding cake; Religious and Moral Education (weddings in different cultures); Royal family history; and technology and design (inventing a 3d decoration for a wedding cake).
School cook has prepared a Royal barbeque and all the children are invited to attend. The school canteen has been decorated with red, white and blue bunting.
· Gergask Primary School, Inverness (school roll 20) - after watching the key moments of the event together on the 'big screen', the school has invited the community of Laggan to join us for a street party in the school grounds to celebrate. Everyone will be dressed for a wedding and will enjoy food, community singing and dancing. Donations on the day will be sent to a charity chosen by the royal couple.
· Inshes Primary School, Inverness (school roll 433) - several classes are involved in Royal Wedding activities this week including researching Kings and Queens of Scotland, England and Great Britain; making bunting and crowns; designing invites for our Royal Wedding party which are modelled on the real William and Kate invites. Children and teachers hope to watch the ceremony on Friday "dressed" for a wedding and will round the day off with their own wedding banquet and games.
Susan Boyd, Class Teacher, Inshes Primary said: "We hope that it will be a day to remember for us all and that they will feel part of a living heritage."
· Conon Bridge Primary (school roll 129) - will be celebrating in various ways. P1 are aking wedding cakes and decorations; P2 are planning wedding menus; P3 are decorating commemorative plates; P4/5 are making flowers for the wedding; P5/6 are planning the wedding route and researching at the Royal Family tree; while P7 are reporting on the fashion and pageantry. Results of the pupils' works will be published on class pages of the school web site.
· Halkirk Primary, Caithness (school roll 114) - are celebrating the Royal Wedding with a wide variety of activities including lots of art and craft activities during the week leading up to the big day which link with curricular work e.g. design a wedding menu; write a message in the guest book for the royal couple; designing outfits and crowns and tiaras. The pupils and staff hope to see the big event on large screen TV.
· Lochyside RC Primary, Fort William (school roll 91) - pupils and staff will be having a "street party" to celebrate the Royal Wedding on Friday.
· Portree Primary School, Isle of Skye (school roll 244) - will be celebrating the marriage of William and Kate with a playground party at 2pm on Friday 29th. All parents, family, friends are invited. Teas, coffees and home baking will be served with jelly and ice cream for pupils and lots of party games.
