Fraserburgh Academy has been awarded funding for an anti-racism football focused literacy programme in collaboration with both Fraserburgh and Aberdeen football clubs.
The Scottish Government school library funding supports creative and innovative projects within the school library sector across the country.
It is available to all state-run nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools with a library, with this year’s funding priority given to applications which focused on supporting anti-racism and racial equality.
The £200,000 2022/23 wave from the School Library Improvement Fund has been allocated to a total of 18 initiatives across Scotland, including the Widening the Pitch project in Aberdeenshire, which aims to engage pupils with low literacy levels through football stories.
Wider understanding of issues around race and diversity
It will encourage students to explore the routes footballers from different backgrounds and nationalities have taken in their careers to help foster a wider understanding of issues around race and diversity.
Pupils will also develop their digital skills while documenting these stories during author visits and active reading sessions.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “School libraries play a key role for young people by providing access to educational resources, supporting learning and helping to close the poverty related attainment gap.
“The School Library Improvement Fund continues to support creative and innovative projects in school libraries.
“The anti-racism focus of the projects will allow school libraries to engage with pupils on the importance of belonging, inclusion and social justice.”
Schools can apply via individual or collaborative applications, with SLIC accepting up to two individual approaches per local authority and an unlimited number of collaborative applications to ensure equal opportunities across Scotland.
Conversation