Pupils at St Peter's Roman Catholic School are taking readers on a magical journey through Old Aberdeen following the launch of their Doric titled book 'A Unicorn's Guide Tae Aul Aiberdeen' which was launched on Monday (4 March 2024) at the University of Aberdeen's Sir Duncan Rice Library.
The Primary 7 pupils were supported by Doric Books, Aberdeen City Council’s Creative Fund programme and had a marketing workshop with the University of Aberdeen.
Welcoming everybody to the launch event, Professor George Boyne, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, said: “I grew up locally spikkin Doric, so it's an absolute treat to welcome everyone to this event and to see the super achievements of our P7s who have produced this fantastic book.
“I’m chuffed that you’ve managed to produce this book and I'm really impressed because I think at the same age when I was in primary school in Aberdeen, I don’t know if I’d have been able to match your achievements. So I think you should be pleased and your family and your friends should be pleased and I'm sure your teachers are too.
“I'm sae impressed I've already bocht a copy and I'm relying on abody else here to do the same. Affa weel deen P7!”
Pam Cumming, School Engagement Officer at the University of Aberdeen, said: “Doric is really important and it's great that the students have been on campus and they've explored old Aberdeen and they're able to talk about it in Doric.
“I went to the school and presented a workshop on marketing, which was great fun. We looked at logos and slogans and I heard all about their brilliant book and they got a chance to do some presentation work.
“They have developed a whole range of skills during this whole experience - from research, learning all about old Aberdeen, about a language, marketing skills and being able to present themselves to others.”
Liam Sturrock, Head Teacher, of St Peter’s RC School said: “This project was made possible thanks to Aberdeen City Council creative funding. Our pupils have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to be authors and illustrators of a published book, and have learned a number of key skills along the journey, including creative writing, illustrating, researching, marketing and teamwork. They have also been presented with a real-life opportunity to learn and apply the Doric language whilst discovering more about the history, cultures and traditions of the area surrounding our school.”
Jackie Ross, Co-Director, Doric Books, said: “Aaron and I have really enjoyed working with P7 and their teacher, Mrs McFadden. They have been fully engaged in all aspects of the project, always enthusiastic and never short of ideas. We were fair trickit with how they tackled working with Doric; a foreign language to most of the class, yet they set about translating their text into Doric with gusto. The whole process has been a joy, and their end product is a wonderful book of which they are rightly proud. Doric Books are very proud of what they have achieved.”
Councillor Martin Greig, the Convener of the Aberdeen City Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: "Aberdeen is proud to be a multi-cultural city and its dialect is spoken by people from all different backgrounds. Doric is an integral part of our local heritage and it's great that the book project has brought everyone together in a wonderful shared activity.
“The project has been a good way to learn more about local history as well as develop reading, writing and design skills. The young people have worked together so positively. It is great to see their team spirit. Each of the pupils has contributed something special to produce this enjoyable, high quality book. The result is excellent."
The book is available to purchase online priced at £10 via the Doric Books website.