Ross-shire Primary School through to Euroquiz final

North Kessock Primary School has won a coveted place in the grand final of the Scottish European Trust’s Euroquiz, to be held on Monday 6 June in the Scottish Parliament debating chamber, Edinburgh.

Euroquiz is a competition for Primary 6 pupils which helps them develop their knowledge of Europe and the European Union, as well as core skills such as communication and teamwork.  Over 1,500 pupils from over 400 schools competed in the heats from 30 of the 32 Scottish local authorities, with the winning teams from each heat going forward to the final.  The competition is sponsored by Standard Life.

To secure their place in the final, the North Kessock Primary team of: Logan Maclean, Max Morgan, Gregor MacDowall and Aine Beattie fought off competition from 9 other Highland primary  schools including: Balloch, Cradlehall, Dornoch, Drakies, Farr (Inverness), Kiltearn, Portree, Resolis and Rosebank Primaries.

The 30 finalist teams will face quizmaster and Deputy Presiding Officer, Elaine Smith MSP at the Scottish Parliament debating chamber. The final will be broadcast live on the internet  at: http://vr-bng.lbwa.verio.net/main_chamber and will then be available on http://www.holyrood.tv/index.asp from 1.30pm onwards.

Mrs Rebecca Robinson, Head Teacher at North Kessock Primary said: “We are all extremely proud of the hard work and dedication that has enabled the pupils to come so far in this competition. They have worked very hard both in and out of the classroom and many adults including staff and parents have been giving them extra coaching during lunchtimes in order to help them to prepare. They are all very excited to be going down to Edinburgh and they feel honoured to be taking part in such a special place for Scotland.  The whole school community will be sending them the very best of luck and we will be watching the live broadcast in school wishing them well.”

Barbara MacLeod, National Organiser of Scottish European Educational Trust said: “We estimate that awareness of Europe has increased among 15,500 young people and their families since we began running this event and we know that teachers have found the Euroquiz to be an excellent source for lesson plans and materials.”

Rona Doig, Group Sustainability, Standard Life added: “Standard Life is delighted to sponsor this year's Euroquiz. The Scottish European Educational Trust work extremely hard throughout the regional heats and the final to deliver an excellent event. Although the primary focus is on expanding the pupil's knowledge of Europe, the whole experience helps them to develop valuable communication and team working skills.”

Jose Manual Barroso, President of the European Commission, sent a message of good luck to all participants:  "It is with great pleasure that I congratulate all the teams who have reached the national final of the 2011 Scottish European Educational Trust's Euroquiz. The quiz represents a great opportunity each year for children in Scotland to learn more about European history and culture. I wish the greatest success to all the finalists and hope that taking part sparks lifelong interest among them in European matters."

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31 May 2011