HRH The Earl of Wessex Visits Easter Ross

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Excitement was high at Milton Primary School in Easter Ross earlier today (Tuesday 22 April) when pupils eagerly watched a helicopter land and cheered when they saw HRH The Earl of Wessex disembark. 

On a day long visit to Milton, Tain and Balintore, HRH’s first port of call was to meet the pupils and to be shown around their school.  On arrival he was greeted by the Lord Lieutenant for Ross and Cromarty, Mrs Janet Bowen and then introduced to the pupils and staff, spending time chatting with each of the seven primary classes.
 
With 54 pupils, and 16 nursery children, Milton Primary School is very much at the heart of the local community and has gained recognition for progress made under the Curriculum for Excellence scheme.  Head Teacher Caroline Cameron said: “The whole school has been so excited about this visit and I was very proud of the way the children welcomed our guests. The royal visit has given everyone in the community a big boost and will be remembered for many years to come.”

At the school, the Prince met representatives from various community groups which use facilities at Milton Community House. 

Hazel Bailey, Community Development Worker said:  “An incredible amount of effort has gone in to improving our community and environment and creating positive attitudes over the last 10 years. The Community House plays a very important role.  It is not only the meeting place for a number of groups such as the youth group, the senior citizens lunch club and an after school group, but it hosts regular drop in sessions by the Council, NHS Highland and Northern Constabulary, giving advice on health, housing and policy issues for anyone in the community to come along to.  The success of the project has meant we are struggling to cope in our existing premises so I was delighted to be able to show Prince Edward plans for the proposed extension to the primary school which will enable us to expand and develop the range of services we can offer.”

After listening to the children singing some catchy Scottish tunes, HRH left the school and was joined by Karrie Marshall, Chairperson of the Milton Community Woodland Trust for the short walk to see the impressive log building and to hear about some of the activities the Trust are involved with.  In the open barn next to the log cabin, HRH was able to watch a number of demonstrations including boat building and green woodworking and ask questions about future projects.

From the Milton Woods, the Prince was driven to Tain Golf Club and was given a rousing welcome by young piper Calum Ross from Tain Royal Academy. President Mr Forbie Urquhart escorted the royal party into the clubhouse for a buffet lunch with invited guests including the Convener of The Highland Council, Councillor Sandy Park, officials from the golf club, and the newly appointed Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Director for Scotland, Barry Fisher who was congratulated on his recent appointment.  Also present were local Duke of Edinburgh Award Officer Liz Whiteford and Development Officer Isobel Gray who have both been involved with the Award in Ross and Cromarty for 15 and 9 years respectively.

Following lunch, Rebecca Raynes, The Highland Council’s Senior Youth Development Officer and Highland Award Officer, introduced 20 young people from Gairloch, Fortrose and Tain who are all taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.  HRH took the opportunity to speak to the pupils about their projects and to see some of the displays they had produced. 

Rebecca Raynes said:  “There are currently 5 schools in Ross and Cromarty actively involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award so it was great that 3 of the schools could be represented today.”

Gairloch High School group is led by Andrew Johnston and has traditionally attracted very high numbers of Award and both foot and canoe expeditions are very popular.  Prince Edward meet Liam Ross, Neil Macleod, Jennifer Port, Roisin Summers, Sam MacKenzie, Calum Milner and Meghann Richardson.  The school is currently taking part in a national pilot looking at “A Curriculum for Excellence” and how this links with pupils involvement in the Award.

At Fortrose Academy the Award is offered at both bronze and silver levels with participants taking part in a wide variety of activities including fundraising for Fairtrade and helping younger children take part in a number of community based groups.  Although group leader Alison Stewart was unable to attend, Kerri Jack, Joanne Shepherd, Emma Buchan, Eleanor Riggs, Stewart Thompson and Ryan Gault were able to chat to the Prince about their experiences.
 
Tain Royal Academy currently offers the Award at all three levels with many participants pursuing music as a skill; an activity the school is particularly renowned for.  The group has been led by teacher Fay Wilkinson for the last 10 years.  Joining her at the Golf Club were pupils Laura Simpson, Kitty Prentice, Andrew Graham, Sam Brennan, Rory Cunningham, Katie Bremner and Calum Ross.

After talking to the young people, Prince Edward was escorted outside by The Highland Council’s Golf Manager, Willie MacKay and Tain Golf Club’s Head Coach Mike Sangster to watch young golfers taking part in a variety of Clubgolf activities.

Emerging out of Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, the national junior golf programme, clubgolf, is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland. 
 
Willie MacKay said:  “Tain Golf Club was one of the first clubs to sign up to clubgolf and to host a Stage 1 programme back in 2004 and have built up a very strong junior section.   Juniors that started as primary pupils are now knocking on the doors of area and regional squads and last year Sammy Vass gained her Scottish Cap after getting selected to play for Scotland.  The golf clubs commitment to the programme and the numbers of children they have introduced to golf is quite remarkable so it was very fitting for the club to host the royal visit.  

Mike Sangster is one of only six PGA Level 2  coaches in the UK and along with 4 other Level 1 coaches he introduces the juniors who progress from the primary school game of firstclubgolf to clubgolf coaching with real golf clubs where they learn the basic skills of putting, chipping and driving and then are ready to learn to play on the course. 

Mike said:  “Now that Tain Golf Club have appointed a full-time PGA Professional in Stuart Morrison, who is also a Scottish Golf Unions Academy Regional Coach, the player development pathway for juniors is complete from beginner all the way through to elite player.”

As Mike explained to the guests about clubgolf’s success, HRH watched a demonstration by primary pupils playing with firstclubgolf plastic golf clubs. Following firstclubgolf, children then have the opportunity to progress to Year 1, Stage 1 of clubgolf's Player Pathway.   Hosted by local golf clubs and courses, such as Tain, Year 1 is a 23-hour course, covering the fundamentals of putting, chipping, full swing, rules and etiquette, taught by the club's fully trained volunteer coaches. After Stage 1 Year 1, there are a further four stages on the Player Pathway.

The Prince then went on to meet more young budding golfers who demonstrated putting and chipping from the clubgolf stage 1 coaching programme before watching the stage 2 coaching sessions taking place from the new artificial mats and the newly installed triple bay practice nets.  Stuart Morrison also showed how video analysis and computer software can be used to “fine-tune” swing techniques.

Tain juniors have their own 2 hole mini course that they progress to from the junior practice area where under adult supervision they learn how to play the game safely. Once they can go round the 2 holes twice within a score of 21 they can progress on the specially made nine junior tees on the 18 holes course where they play 1,2,3,4,5 and 15,16,17,18 for a 9 hole score.  The bronze, silver , gold sections within the juniors is working well as the juniors gain promotion by virtue of their scores, their behaviour and their commitment to coaching nights.
 
As well as young golfers, HRH the Earl of Wessex chatted with several Intermediate Ladies Members who were introduced to the sport when dropping their children off for clubgolf coaching.  They had originally enquired about getting some lessons so they could join their children and play a few holes on the junior tees.  This has grown beyond everyone’s expectations with  now over 40 “ladies intermediate members” who pay half the full fee but only play half the full golf course.  This demonstrates that Tain Golf Club are growing the game of golf both as part of the national junior programme called clubgolf but are also now growing the game of adult golf as well.

The final visit of the day was to the Seaboard villages where residents lined the street to watch the royal party arrive. 

Will Aitken from the Seaboard Initiative escorted Prince Edward around the outdoor sculpture trail, introducing other members of the Initiative as they walked along the route.  Piper Duncan MacGillivray then led the procession to the new Adventure Playpark which overlooks the sea.  Initiated by the Seaboard Play Area Committee to re-introduce traditional playground games to youngsters, the Adventure Playground got a big ”thumbs up” from the Hilton Primary School pupils who were busy enjoying playing Hopscotch, Snakes and Ladders and outdoor chess.

Chair of the Committee, Mrs Norma Balfour introduced committee members and representatives from the funding organisations before inviting the Prince to officially open the park by cutting a ribbon.

The Royal Party were then shown around the Seaboard Memorial Hall by Mrs Maureen Ross, Chairperson of the hall committee.  During the tour, Prince Edward had the chance to admire the base of the original Hilton of Cadboll Stone and see a display relating to the background of its find before meeting members of the Historic Hilton Trust. 

Volunteers and staff responsible for running the Community Hall were introduced before the Prince went into the main hall to meet representatives from the various community groups that use the hall.

The visit ended with Mrs Ross proposing a vote of thanks.  After the Royal Party had left, she said:  “I am delighted that the environmental, regeneration and voluntary efforts undertaken in the Seaboard over the last few years have been recognised and that we were given the chance to show Prince Edward all the improvements so many people in the community have worked so hard over.  The Seaboard is a place to be proud of.”