Scottish Traditional Music petition - Plockton Music School

[Telo]

Young musicians from Plockton, Wester Ross, brought their campaign to save their Music School from the Highlands to Glasgow's George Square on Saturday.

Based at Plockton High School in the west Highlands, Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd is a National Centre of Excellence for traditional Scottish music.

They ask that friends of Scottish traditional music support them by signing the petition at http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42495.html.

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3FAGAMgMG_U[/youtube]

From the petition statement:

"The Highland Council has targeted the National Centre for Excellence in Traditional Music, based at Plockton High School, in its proposed cuts package. http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2115087

"If the cuts are voted through at the Highland Council meeting on February 10, the Centre could close as soon as July next year. Director Dougie Pincock was interviewed on the BBC this morning and said that while he expected the Centre to take its share of any cuts he 'hadn't anticipated it would be all of it.'

"Plockton has been an integral part of Scottish Traditional Music for the past 10 years. It has started many of our best young musicians on the road to their career and provided training in traditional music and groupwork from some of Scotland's finest musicians. Our young folk could not have gained this level of training anywhere else."

petition : http://www.gopetition.com/petition/42495.html
"We, the undersigned, call on the Highland Council not to close the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music at Plockton High School".

[Nick]

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I'm sure it is a wonderful institution, but Highland Council is strapped for cash - what should they cut instead?

[Telo]

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I'm sure it is a wonderful institution, but Highland Council is strapped for cash - what should they cut instead?

Web designers.

[claymore]

Referee - please....

[Nick]

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I'm sure it is a wonderful institution, but Highland Council is strapped for cash - what should they cut instead?

Web designers.

Their site is a bit rubbish. Yes, they could outsource their web design. Good idea - I would support that.

Highland Council are also threatening to cut ALL primary classroom assistants. Personally - while it is not a choice that should have to be made - I would rather see the music school go and the classroom assistants kept on. With the budget cuts that have been imposed on Scottish councils lots of nice things are going to go. Argyll and Bute has the biggest percentage cut of any Scottish council - there's going to be lots going here.

[Telo]

[Nick]

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Ah - traditional Scottish protest. Now that is worth preserving! Where do I sign up?

[ParaHandy]

... a National Centre of Excellence for traditional Scottish music.

This is what I call a center of excellence


and here's Ms Millington entertaining his holiness



She's more than just a strong pair orra lungs .. ahem .. as she fronted the protest by the Scots Music Group against the withdrawl of the Scottish arts Council funding (crucial for traditional Scot's music) ... in 2008.

Can't be that Scotland's disinterested in her traditional music, can it? You do wonder why Plockton employed an experienced fund-raiser and appear not to have used her talents. It's the Scottish dependency culture in my view ...

[jim.r]

I wonder if she can sook as weel as she can blaw?

[ParaHandy]

Coming tae think of it, is there such an instrument?

I know of an who sucks air rapidly when its his round but nothing else springs tae mind

[Telo]

Coming tae think of it, is there such an instrument?

The moothie.

[Silkie]

This is what I call a center of excellence

Is she American?

[ParaHandy]

Is she American?

Wash yer mooth oot! No, she's 100% ours

[ash]

Is she American?

Wash yer mooth oot! No, she's 100% ours

This is what I call a center of excellence

Ash.......

[Telo]

Just to clarify, the Plockton Music School is one of the six centres of excellence within the Scottish secondary school system; it is part of Plockton High School, and all the students receive the full normal secondary education curriculum that Plockton provides.

The specialist subjects and the level of tuition are beyond the normal resources of most schools. Because these subjects are outside the mainstream of curricular study, resources have been concentrated in the six centres, who then select small numbers of talented pupils from throughout Scotland who show outstanding abilities in their chosen specialism.