The
Geographer
2-3
Spring 2014
NEWS People • Places • Planet
Argyll schoolchildren join the drove
Another Inspiring Talks Season
A class of 16 Rockfield Primary School pupils experienced the life of the
ancient drovers of Argyll, when they drove a small herd of Highland cattle,
cooked bannocks over an open fire, sang
traditional songs, and shared in storytelling
tradition. The experience was delivered
completely in Gaelic. Before embarking
on their drove, the children learned about
droving in Argyll and the old drove routes,
made clay Highland cows, and held an
auction where their cows were sold.
As the 2013-14 talks season comes to a close, the RSGS
would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members
of Local Group Committees who have given their time to
provide vital help. We would like to extend a particular
thank-you to those long-serving committee members who
are standing down: David Langworth,
Chair of our Borders Committee, and
Katy Haddock, Secretary of Stirling.
The project, based on the outcomes of last summer’s Stories in the Land,
was a partnership involving RSGS, Sally Harkness from Storyline Scotland,
and Argyll & Bute Council’s education service.
Task Group for Geography
Erica M Caldwell, Chair, RSGS/SAGT Task Group for Geography
Geography teachers throughout Scotland have been asking why the new
Higher Geography, due to be rolled out in schools from August 2014, is
so narrow, old-fashioned and dumbed-down. A Task Group for Geography
has, therefore, been formed with the RSGS in partnership with the
Scottish Association of Geography Teachers (SAGT). A detailed survey
of SAGT members revealed the extent of problems in implementing the
new National courses – for example, cumbersome and time-consuming
assessments and reassessments which ate into teaching and learning
time – and the issues relating to content and assessment of the new Higher.
Letters have been sent to SQA, the teaching unions and other interested
bodies to try to effect change. If you are experiencing positive or negative
effects of the change, we want to hear from you; please contact RSGS HQ.
Joint Event with RGS North West England
RSGS Livingstone Medallist Rory Stewart will speak at the
5th
first joint talk between the RSGS and the North West England
September
Branch of the Royal Geographical Society. Rory’s new talk,
‘Borderlands’: A walk through the vanished kingdom of the Middleland, will be
about the Border country, its past history and its present identity.
The talk will take place in Carlisle Cathedral Fratry on 5th September; ticket
details will be available in the next edition of The Geographer.
Members for 60+ years…
The RSGS was sorry to note the deat