Jessica makes triumphant return

A young Inverness student has made a triumphant return to the National Mod.

Jessica Hanvidge, 15, from Inverness Royal Academy, was one of 20 competitors in this year’s prestigious Silver Medal for fluent solo singers aged between 13 and 15.

Her performance marks only her second appearance at the Royal National Mod, her last being when she was in primary school.

Jessica was shocked to be crowned the champion on Tuesday and in receipt of the prestigious An Comunn Gaidhealach Silver Medal.

She said: “I am very happy as it is so unexpected. I have been practising since last year, but properly got into the swing of it a couple of months ago, and it’s just hard work and going over it and practising. I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I was going to be. It gave me more confidence when singing that I would be able to perform it well under the pressure of the competition.” From her very early years, Gaelic has been a part of her life.

She explained: “My mum is fluent in Gaelic so I have been brought up with the two, although English was still my first language.”

Jessica also competed in the Mod’s traditional singing, conversation and reading.

She says winning the Silver Medal has given her “a new confidence for the talent I have”.

She added: “I was really neglecting it but I think it has given me the new confidence to go, ‘you know what, I can do this and I can do well in it so I should keep it going’.”

Alec Macdonald from Glasgow secured the An Comunn Gaidhealach Silver Medal in the boys 13-15 fluent solo singing competition.

Yesterday we said that Rihanna Boyle from Glasgow and Anndra Cumming from Gairloch won the Silver Medals at the Mod.

In fact, both won the Traditional Silver Medals.