Skye school’s memorial delight
Staffin Primary School on the Isle of Skye has beaten off competition from across the country to win a prestigious competition organised by Poppyscotland.
The charity’s design competition – entitled Poppy Places and Spaces – called on schools to explore the power of design as part of remembrance and reflection, with the school putting forward a design to refresh a memorial space in Staffin.
Primary four to seven pupils at Bun-sgoil Stafainn will now receive up to £1,000 to bring their vision to life.
Bun-sgoil Stafainn’s winning entry will be located at a memorial area that already exists, but has become tired and underused. The area will now be revived with ideas coming from young people in the area. It will include a Poppy-themed gate and a bog garden to represent the muddy conditions of the First World War, and they have created the idea for poppy-shaped benches and a flower bed. One of the pupils has a great-great-grandfather who died during the Great War and has no grave. The fallen soldier will be remembered at the site, too.
The children from Bun-sgoil Stafainn said: ‘We are delighted to have won the competition and can’t wait to get started and see our design for a refreshed memorial space for Staffin become reality. It means a lot to us to be able to both represent and give something back to our close-knit community in such a meaningful way.’