Brodie Castle’s history helps shape pupils’ futures

Over the course of seven weeks, the P6/7 pupils from Dyke Primary School participated in a series of workshops held at Brodie Castle & Estate, and at their school. During these sessions, they learned more about Brodie’s history, the castle’s architecture, its gardens and grounds, as well as its impressive art collection, which inspired a new exploration guide of the property. The pupils researched and developed content for the self-guided leaflet and presented it to their family members during a special event to celebrate the project’s completion on 26 May.

The class learned about the different staff who contribute to running the castle, from the gardeners and rangers who care for the plants and animals on the estate, to the Collections Care team who look after the castle's precious objects, including its antique furniture, valuable paintings, and thousands of historic books.

The exploration guide, which will be used for ongoing engagement with visiting children and families, was created in collaboration with local author Ewen Watson and illustrator Sathya Schlosser. The pupils spent time working with Ewen to turn what they learned in the workshops into written content for the guide, and through the creation of their own illustrations and artwork, Sathya interpreted these designs for the finished leaflet. The pupils’ illustrations will be displayed over the summer in the Playful Garden café, where the leaflet will also be available for families to pick up.

The Workforce for the Future project, funded by the Art Fund, is designed to connect museums with young people. The team at Brodie Castle joined up with Museum Galleries Scotland to deliver the project, which aims to develop young people’s employability skills, increase their confidence, and help them learn about careers in the heritage sector.

The project was led by Pam Hill, Operations Manager at Brodie Castle, who said: ’Engaging with pupils from Dyke Primary School through the Workforce for the Future project is a fantastic way to get them excited about the castle’s history and the work of the Trust to maintain this special place in a fun and engaging way. The workshops taught them about the garden and estate, collections care, the castle's history, research and development, and teamwork. These skills have helped them to produce and deliver the exploration guide of the castle and estate, which will be used as part of our ongoing engagement with families who visit us. We were so pleased the pupils could present the leaflet to their families at a special celebratory event to mark the end of the project, and we’re super proud of what they’ve achieved.

’The Workforce for the Future project supports our vision to provide access to and enjoy Scotland’s special places and gives us a unique insight into how young people see Brodie Castle. Our conservation charity is working to become a learning organisation, enabling more people and communities to access our properties and improve their health and wellbeing. We’re delighted to support the project with Dyke Primary School and connect its pupils with the castle’s past and present. We hope the skills and experience they have developed during the project will help them going forward and encourage them to consider working in a role that supports Scotland’s nature, beauty and heritage in the future.’

John Campbell, Museums Galleries Scotland Senior Workforce and Partnerships Manager, said: ’It is great to see how the Trust has developed the Workforce for the Future project at Brodie Castle to capture the imagination of local school pupils with the historic past of this 400-year-old local treasure. We’re delighted to see how engaged the pupils have been in the workshops and to see the exploration guide they have produced, which will help to engage more children when they visit. We’re proud to support the project and are thankful to the team at the castle for their enthusiasm and expertise in assisting the pupils to create the leaflet and learn about a potential future career in the heritage sector.’

Hayley Burns, Head Teacher at Dyke Primary School, said: ’The Workforce for the Future project provided an exciting opportunity for local pupils from Dyke Primary School to go behind the scenes at Brodie Castle to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of the heritage team. Our pupils enjoyed using their creative skills to contribute ideas for illustrations and wording for the visitor leaflet. It is just great that other families and children will use the leaflet to get a sense of the castle, its history, and the biodiversity to be found around the grounds. We are very grateful for this opportunity and hope that we may continue to collaborate on projects in the future.’

Projects like Workforce for the Future at Brodie Castle support the Trust’s vision to care for, share, and protect Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage, as outlined in our ten-year strategy launched in 2022. They also contribute to our engagement objectives to provide access and enjoyment for everyone and to be a learning organisation.