New research: Does Scots boost school grades?

Speaking Scots in school might be good for your grades

FOR many of us, speaking Scots in the classroom would have resulted in a sharp rebuke. But now pupils at one Aberdeenshire school are to use the leid for learning as researchers examine whether or not this will boost grades across subjects.

Banff Academy will work with Aberdeen University’s Elphinstone Institute to work out whether studying towards the Scots Language Award – a national qualification – aids attainment. Lead researcher Claire Needler and humanities teacher Dr Jamie Fairbairn will observe the impact on young learners. Dr Needler remarked, “Scots speakers are actually bilingual, and this is an additional language skill that many pupils do not even recognise that they have. Fairburn is an enthusiast of the Scots Language Award, ““For some, it has had a quite transformative effect. They can see that this is a subject in which they can really shine and, particularly for those who may have struggled in some other areas, it can boost their self-esteem which in turn has an impact on their wider achievement in school.”