Use: Immediate                                                                                 Issue Date: Monday 27 June 2004

Pupils from Inverlochy Primary School visited The Highland Council’s headquarters in Inverness on Thursday (23 June) to see an exhibition of their work go on display to mark National Refugee Week.

The pupil’s visit was timed to coincide with the last Full Council meeting of the session. Their work, along with the work of pupils from Ullapool High School and Rosehall Primary in Sutherland, formed an exhibition which was admired by members of The Highland Council including the Convener, Alison Magee. She praised the pupils for their creativity and hard work in highlighting the plight of refugees and thanked them for coming along to answer questions and speak to Councillors about their work.

Over 20 primary and secondary schools across the Highlands have been working with material provided by Save The Children, the Scottish Refugee Council and Highland One World Group to work on projects aimed at raising the awareness of the issues facing refugees.

Janie Keast, Development Education Worker with Highland One World Group who accompanied the pupils to Inverness was pleased that so many schools had been involved in this year’s project. She said: "Some schools undertook specific work on refugees and others linked the materials to topics such as the Clearances and World War II which both witnessed huge displacements of people. The material encourages an active learning approach to the whole issue of refugees, encouraging young people to work in groups to solve problems, to empathise with others and to question things like the role of the media in forming public opinion."

ENDS