The specialised skills and expertise of Armed Forces veterans are being used to teach Moray schoolchildren how to be their “best selves”
Five schools are taking part in the scheme, where veterans work with groups of youngsters to teach them life lessons through practical activities.
Ran by Skillforce, the programme is called the Prince William Award and is fast-growing throughout Scotland.
Seafield, Bishopmill and Dyke Primary School all have pupils enrolled, as does Lossiemouth High School with Greenwards Primary kicking off their own scheme in January.
Ex-servicewoman Michelle Good is Skillforce’s area manager for the north and also has her own group at Seafield Primary, in Bishopmill.
She said: “Children respond well to us because we are ex-military and we are pretty straight with them.
“They seem to respond to the military ethos we are trying to install in them and the aim of the training is to build-up confidence and give them enough of a grounding so they can make better choices in life.
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“We target children in primary school so that they can understand the impact of their choices earlier on as we don’t want to leave it too late.
“I joined the army at a young age and I’ve lost three people I went to school with because of drugs and alcohol so that is why it is important to challenge them at a younger age.”
Skillforce put a group of children through a 36-week training programme which has them taking part in a unique practical activity every week and then writing a journal about it.
They were joined yesterday at Seafield Primary School by MP Douglas Ross, who was put through his paces by taking part in gutterball, a game where you have to as a team transport a tennis ball using plastic gutters without it touching the floor.
Mr Ross said: “The Prince William Award is a fantastic scheme and it was good to see at first hand the great results they are achieving in schools across Moray.
“It was excellent to be at Seafield Primary School to take part in some of the activities and see how much the kids develop throughout just one session.
“It’s clear from the reaction of the children that they have all developed considerably and at the end of the day, each one put up their hand to tell me something that has changed for the better as a result of their involvement with the award.
“From problem-solving to team work to building confidence it was clear that this 36-week course has a positive impact not just during their time on the award but well into the future as well.”
