Raasay Primary School gave a warm welcome to a very special guest, the Princess Royal.
The visit was all the more poignant by its timing, one day before the death of her mother, The Queen.
Princess Anne had to leave the island for Balmoral to be with the Queen during her final hours.
Head teacher Wilma Duncan says the visit was a great success, and Princess Anne took a lot of interest in the school.
The sun shone as the island welcomed its illustrious visitor. School piping tutor Eddie Seamon got the day off to a rousing start with a selection of tunes. Princess Anne was welcomed to the school by head teacher Wilma Duncan.
Mrs Duncan introduced her to members of the school team, parent council and Highland Council education officers.
Princess Anne enjoyed a tour of the classroom, and also viewed a display of classwork from Isle of Raasay pupils. She took a great interest in their work and hearing about all the projects the pupils had been working on.
Pupils treat Princess Anne to poetry and songs
There are just five pupils at Raasay Primary, and they took centre stage in meeting their very special visitor.
Hamish Blair (P7), Calum Duncan (P6), Alexander Hill (P3), Harrison Downie (P2) and Eachann Hill (P1) delivered a performance of ‘Make Your Way to Stornoway’ and recited Gaelic poetry.
Gaelic singer Anne Martin then introduced the school’s Treoir project, relating to the clearance village of Fearns. Princess Anne enjoyed listening to Mrs Martin and the pupils perform ‘Tobhta Fearna’, a song they composed for the project.
The pupils also took great delight in sharing some local history. They told the Princess about Calum’s Road, a track built almost single-handedly by crofter Calum MacLeod in the 60s and 70s.
Princess Anne was presented with a gift of the book ‘Calum’s Road’ by Hamish Blair and a poem written by the pupils. Finally, on behalf of the school, she was given a Raasay tartan scarf made by local weaver Lillian MacLeod.
Raasay pupils, staff and guests gave the Princess a rousing send-off, accompanied by the playing of the pipes.
Speaking after the visit, Mrs Duncan said: “We all really enjoyed the chance to showcase some of the excellent work pupils are doing at our small school.
“Her Royal Highness showed a lot of interest and asked lots of questions. I want to thank the pupils, staff and the wider school community for all their efforts to ensure the visit was such a success.”
‘She spent a long time speaking to everyone’
Princess Anne spent the rest of the day touring Raasay, with visits to the distillery and walled garden community project. Prior to arriving in Raasay, she also visited Broadford campsite on Skye and discovered the work of the Broadford and Strath community company.
Lord Lieutenant Joanie Whiteford said: “We were delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness to Broadford and Raasay for what was a fantastic day. The sun shone and we hope the Princess enjoyed the visit as much as we did.
“She spent a long time speaking to everyone, finding out more about the excellent work going on at each venue. What really shone through during the whole day was the dedication, hard work and strong community spirit of all the volunteers, the school staff, pupils and the team at the distillery.”
Left Skye for Balmoral to be with the Queen in her final hours
Tragically, Princess Anne was forced to leave Skye for Balmoral, and be with the Queen in her final hours.
The Lord Lieutenant said the events that followed made the visit “even more poignant”.
“I am sure I speak on behalf of everyone she met in sending our sincere condolences to all members of the royal family at this very sad time,” she said.
“I would like to pay tribute to the Queen’s lifetime of selfless service given to our nation and the Commonwealth.”
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