Language at Letham - Introduction

Working in Scots seems to energise and motivate children whenever Burns Night or St Andrew's Day comes around; but extended classroom work in Scots is not the norm - and studies have not been undertaken to try and identify what it is that makes Scots so engaging for children, or to evaluate the impact of working in Scots on children and their teachers, or to consider what the wider implications might be if a commitment were to be made to Scots as a serious element of the curriculum . . . until now.

The project at Letham came about because of a joint interest in these matters of Matthew Fitt of Itchy Coo, Professor Jim McGonigal and Dr Beth Dickson of Glasgow University and the staff of Literature in Learning. We are very grateful to headteacher Valerie Brodie for showing such willingness to take this work forward in her school.

Cuddy Brae

The Cuddy Brae project, which will run all year (2006-7), involves developing P7 children's understanding of the Scots language through a range of curriculum projects, with the support of class teachers Muriel Angus and Angela Mackie. Matthew Fittt of Itchy Coo has suggested the name Cuddy Brae for the project:

"A cuddy was a heavy cart used to counterbalance coal carts as they were brought to the surface up the brae or roadway from the mine interior. I guess what we're doing is bring words to the surface that presently lie hidden. A cuddy is also a horse or donkey in Scots and the two words sit quite nicely together. So Cuddy Brae."

CPD is being provided by Matthew Fitt of Itchy Coo, and Literature in Learning is working with Glasgow University to support the development of the project and measure its impact on teachers, writer and children alike.

Initial Questionnaires

Initial questionnaires were used to gather information about knowledge of the Scots language

DOWNLOAD: Initial Questionnaire for Teachers

DOWNLOAD: Initial Questionnaire for Pupils