Angus teacher in line to be Queen of Scots

Claire Yeaman, who teaches at Seaview Primary School, has made the final five in the running for the ‘Scots Teacher of the Year’ category at the Scots Language Awards which will be held on Saturday (September 16) in Johnstone Town Hall.

The nomination is in recognition of Claires work last year on promoting the ‘Neeps & Tatties’ project at the school. Written entirely in Scots and created by author Carey Morning and illustrator Anna York, ‘Neeps and Tatties’ tells the story of two warring vegetable tribes who are finally encouraged to put the past behind them in the interests of a better future.

The book examines issues such as discrimination and prejudice and is supported by a range of resources and activities which teach Scots words, uses the language to educate pupils on wider social issues.

Claire saw the project as an opportunity to promote Scots and organised copies of the resource to be made available to every teacher and pupil free of charge.

In addition, on Burns Night she arranged a special event which saw Councillor Lynn Devine, Angus Council's children and learning convener, read the story to pupils and persuaded Scots poet Thomas Clarke, who nominated Claire, to run special workshops for classes.

He said: “Angus has a rich tradition of Scots and is spoken and understood by so many of the children in the area. I’ve seen first-hand the absolutely incredible difference Claire’s work in teaching and promoting the language makes to the young people of Seaview Primary and she thoroughly deserves this nomination.”

Ms Devine added: “I’m delighted that Claire has been nominated for her work promoting Scots language through the ‘Neeps & Tatties’ project.

"Scots is an important part of our culture and by Claire bringing the ‘Neeps and Tatties’ book to young people at the school, where I had the pleasure of reading it, it provides a great way for them to learn more about the words we use daily while learning about the traditions of Scotland.”

The Scots Language Awards were established in 2019 to celebrate the importance of Scots within arts, culture, education and day to day life. This year more than 60 nominees have been shortlisted for a range of awards.

Winners are chosen by a free public vote and which is open until September 10 via http://www.scotslanguageawards.com