Centre of Excellence
I was involved in a review of the 'centre of excellence for traditional music' - based at Plockton High School - several years ago.
I was very impressed at the set up in Plockton and the great commitment shown towards the centre - by both the students and staff.
So I was pleased to see that the Scottish government and Highland Council have come up with a funding package to keep the centre going - because it's a unique institution.
Here's what I had to say at the time.
"The Centre of Traditional Music based at Plockton High School offers tuition and all-round, in-depth experience of all aspects of Scottish traditional music, to pupils between 12 and 18 years of age.
The centre is the only one of its kind to emphasise the teaching of Traditional Scottish Music. It has attained a high status nationally during the five years of its operation.
In financial year 2003/04 there were 22 pupils on the roll of which 18 were residential. The high level of residential places is due to the fact that pupils attend from all over Scotland and to the remoteness of the area in which the school is located. The pupils receive personal tuition in timetabled classes and also as an extra curricular activity.
The centre aims to enable pupils’ to attain their personal goals in traditional music by providing a pathway to potential careers and to broaden and enrich pupils experience by fostering links with both the local and wider community of traditional music in Scotland and abroad.
The centre has strong links with the Gaelic language movement and in particular the Feis movement, a nationwide programme of community based Gaelic arts tuition festivals, which enjoys an international reputation and a high level of cross party political support. It also has strong links with the Higher Education institutions to which its students progress, especially the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
The centre is oversubscribed each year with auditions of a high standard acting as the main criterion for entry."
I was very impressed at the set up in Plockton and the great commitment shown towards the centre - by both the students and staff.
So I was pleased to see that the Scottish government and Highland Council have come up with a funding package to keep the centre going - because it's a unique institution.
Here's what I had to say at the time.
"The Centre of Traditional Music based at Plockton High School offers tuition and all-round, in-depth experience of all aspects of Scottish traditional music, to pupils between 12 and 18 years of age.
The centre is the only one of its kind to emphasise the teaching of Traditional Scottish Music. It has attained a high status nationally during the five years of its operation.
In financial year 2003/04 there were 22 pupils on the roll of which 18 were residential. The high level of residential places is due to the fact that pupils attend from all over Scotland and to the remoteness of the area in which the school is located. The pupils receive personal tuition in timetabled classes and also as an extra curricular activity.
The centre aims to enable pupils’ to attain their personal goals in traditional music by providing a pathway to potential careers and to broaden and enrich pupils experience by fostering links with both the local and wider community of traditional music in Scotland and abroad.
The centre has strong links with the Gaelic language movement and in particular the Feis movement, a nationwide programme of community based Gaelic arts tuition festivals, which enjoys an international reputation and a high level of cross party political support. It also has strong links with the Higher Education institutions to which its students progress, especially the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
The centre is oversubscribed each year with auditions of a high standard acting as the main criterion for entry."
