Dave Thompson MSP

Highlands and Islands MSP Dave Thompson met teachers and pupils in Portree on Friday to hear more about an exciting project to encourage innovation and creativity in the next generation of young islanders.

Portree High School was selected for a trial study of iDiscover Scotland, a new hands-on approach to teaching and learning scientific, technological and creative subjects.

Mr Thompson was impressed to see how enthusiastic more than 100 second year pupils had been when they were encouraged to produce puppet shows, starting a business, designing bedside lamps, composing and playing their own music or even discussing philosophy to find solutions to problems or solving a murder mystery.

The iDiscover Scotland programme, which is funded by The Scottish Government, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and The Highland Council, allows pupils to access credits worth up to more than £100 each to spend on activities outside normal lessons to help them learn how knowledge from the classroom can be put into practice.

When Mr Thompson visited the school on Friday afternoon, 108 second year pupils were engaged in a busy day on projects as varied as making puppets to act out the script they had written that morning, drawing up a marketing plan for soaps they were making, making a range of bedside lamps they had designed or thinking philosophically about how problems could be solved.

"It was absolutely fascinating to see how enthusiastic the pupils were when they were allowed to put everything they had learned in lessons to practical use," Mr Thompson said.

"The team who decided to put on a puppet show from scratch had to write the script and make the puppets before they could start, and the group making soaps had to produce a full business plan showing how they could finance their projects and market their soaps in addition to developing and making their cosmetics themselves.

"For me, one of the highlights of the day was the performance of a song written that morning by a group of female pupils."

Mr Thompson added: "It was an excellent exercise and wonderful to see pupils using their heads and thinking how to achieve their goals. It was a real demonstration of how the knowledge they get in the classroom can actually be put to practical use for a wide range of real-life tasks. A great way for the pupils to learn valuable life skills."

The iDiscovery programme allows the school to do much more than it could with its normal budget.

Mr Thompson added: "I think those involved will take their experience from today and use it throughout their lives in future activities, giving us a real legacy from this project. It is something that I would also like to see other schools able to take up."