Cas Anderson (second left) and Sam McPartlin (15) received prizes for their leaflet designs. Also pictured are Ainsley James (left) and Mhairi Stewart.
TOURISM brochures which promote Forres as a place to visit have been produced by foreign language students at the local secondary school.
S3 pupils from Forres Academy studying French and German had to produce the pamphlets as part of their work, but to add an extra element, the material was judged by organisers of Piping At Forres with the winners being announced at an assembly last week.
Scooping the prize for the best French document was Cas Anderson (14) whilst 15-year-old Sam McPartlin took home the crown for the German guide.
Year of Young People
Piping At Forres is joining the celebrations for Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 and Ainsley James, former depute rector of Forres Academy, is coordinating all of Piping At Forres’ events associated with the Year of Young People 2018.
She said she was delighted to be involved: “Showcasing local secondary pupils’ work linked to an actual event in Forres made this more real in the eyes of the young people who were tasked with creating the leaflets.
“There was such a huge variety in what was produced although the winners were chosen because their leaflets gave excellent information for a tourist visiting Forres. They covered everything from where Forres is, places of interest and where people could eat. They included all the vital information you’d need when visiting somewhere for the first time.
“As well as clear, concise information, there were illustrations of attractions and it was all laid out in a way that was easy to follow. They certainly hit the brief. Piping At Forres is taking an active role is the Year of Young People 2018 and this is just one of many events we are involved in to ensure we celebrate such a tremendous year.”
Real-life experience for young people
Mhairi Stewart, principal teacher of modern languages at the school said she was proud of the effort the students put into their work: “The reason we came up with this idea was that we were keen to highlight to pupils the importance of using their language skills in real-life situations.
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Part of the Scottish Government’s current youth employment strategy, Developing the Young Workforce, enables young people to think about their employability skills and this task encompassed all of that. The hope was that working alongside Piping At Forres would provide an opportunity for our young people to develop their skills and build capacity in language.
“Having this international event which takes place right on our doorstep combined with the chance to show off Forres to any potential visitors to our area whilst using their foreign language skills was a very good exercise for them.”
She added: “We tasked the pupils to be creative and think about what would attract young people to Forres and the surrounding area. We let the pupils decide whether to use technology to create a leaflet or hand draw them which gave some of the more artistic pupils the opportunity to shine. We were very impressed with the results.”
The winners
The French leaflet (left) was designed by Cas and the German one designed by Sam.
The competition was run throughout the whole year group. Cas Anderson, winner of the French leaflet, acknowledged this: “I’m really happy that I have won, but I didn’t expect this as everyone took part. I tried really hard and enjoyed being creative.”
Sam McPartlin who created hid guide in German added: “I really just found it fun to research different places and attractions within Forres and it’s great to be chosen as the winner.”
Sam and Cas were each presented with a family pass to Piping At Forres, the European Pipe Band Championships which takes place in Grant Park for the final time on June 30.
They also received branded scarves and shortbread.
Karenza Rowe and Lily Armstrong were highly commended for their creations and there was a special mention for two pupils who created their leaflets in Mandarin.