One of the country’s top female footballers helped pupils from a Moray school kick off their summer holidays this week, taking part in a friendly game at their local sands.
Scotland captain and Celtic goalkeeper Gemma Fay was guest of honour at a beach safety day run by Lossiemouth High School for its second year pupils.
The town’s east beach is a popular destination for the town’s youngsters each summer and staff wanted to prepare pupils for the holiday by educating them on how to avoid accidents at the beauty spot.
Head of the school’s PE department, Ivan Scott, said the VIP visitor was an inspiration to the school’s budding sports stars.
He said: “We like to educate our kids about beach safety because of all the accidents that can happen around that area over the summer, and we find that a day of games and activities is the best way to go about that.
“We are part of a national ‘champions in schools’ role model project, and through that Gemma Fay agreed to attend our beach safety session.
“We have girls who train with Elgin City FC and they were fascinated by what she had to say. But I think all our pupils – regardless of their gender – were inspired by Gemma Fay’s story. She’s a real role model to them.
“During our game I can’t recall any of children managing to get a goal past Ms Fay, but maybe that’s something for them to work on.”
Ms Fay, 33, is Scotland’s most capped female footballer of all time.
Before joining the Scottish Women’s Premier League with Celtic, she played for Leeds United.
She made her senior Scotland debut against the Czech Republic in May 1998 and has since chalked up 160 appearances for the national team.
Scotland did not qualify for this summer’s Fifa women’s world cup after losing a playoff tie against Holland.