{"id":7137,"date":"2026-08-31T09:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/?p=7137"},"modified":"2026-08-31T09:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T08:04:09","slug":"scots-language-awards-2026-stewart-clelland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/scots-language-awards-2026-stewart-clelland\/","title":{"rendered":"Scots Language Awards 2026: Stewart Clelland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Weel duin tae Stewart Clelland wha hae bin nominatit in Scots Teacher o the Year (sponsored by Qualifications Scotland) in the Scots Language Awards. Vote now!<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2026 Scots Language Awards tak place on Saturday 19th September at the iconic Discovery Centre, home of the RRS Discovery Ship (1pm). Reserve yer ticket here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The awards will be a daytime event this year, making them as inclusive and accessible to as many award nominees from across Scotland as possible. <\/p>\n

We askit Stewart Clelland o Stewart Clelland thae speirins. <\/p>\n

Tell us aboot yersel or yer ootfit.<\/strong>
\nAlthough I bide in Moray noo, I was born and brocht up in Cumnock, Ayrshire, a former mining town wi a strang working-class character. Growing up, Burns and Keir Hardie were familiar figures, while punk rock, socialist culture and local politics encouraged me tae think for masel.<\/p>\n

I am Principal Teacher of Project-Based Learning at Banff Academy, whaur I lead projects connecting young people wi places, people and issues. My upbringing shapes my approach tae education. I believe learning should help young folk understand inequality, challenge injustice and value voices aw too often pushed tae the margins. I create opportunities for pupils tae engage wi poverty, discrimination, conflict, language and identity, while learning frae communities whose experiences are overlooked. Education should gie young folk the confidence tae question the world aroond them and imagine how it might be fairer.<\/p>\n

I have spent time training teachers in Uganda and Rwanda, reinforcing ma belief that education should grow through cultural exchange.<\/p>\n

I love travelling and reading, discovering unfamiliar places, people, ideas and histories. I also enjoy writing and historical research, looking at auld motorbikes I definitely dinnae need, and walking the Moray coast wi my wife, Lorraine, and oor springer spaniel, Angus.<\/p>\n

Whit wis it got ye involvit wi the Scots leid?<\/strong>
\nI got involvit wi Scots because language is mair than wirds: it\u2019s aboot power, identity and whether folk feel their voice belongs. Being brocht up in Cumnock, Scots was aw around me, yet English remained the language o education and authority. I saw how working-class speech could be dismissed as \u201cbad English\u201d: fine in conversation, but no for serious writing or public life.<\/p>\n

At Banff Academy, my friend and colleague Dr Jamie Fairbairn inspired me. His work wi young people showed me whit Scots education could achieve. I recognised the same tension among Doric-speaking pupils, whose knowledge o place and community could be undervalued. I wanted the classroom tae be somewhere their language was valued, explored and used creatively.<\/p>\n

Scots became part o my commitment tae social justice. I have written and delivered multiple Scots-centred schule projects tae hundreds o young folk. Pupils have used Doric and Cant tae record wirds for wildlife and landscape, recognising language as ecological and community knowledge. Ithers have used Doric in scrievin and art exchanged wi Palestinian pupils in Gaza and the West Bank, making it a language o empathy and international solidarity. Scots gies pupils confidence in their ain voice and affirms that their language, community and experiences deserve tae be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Why dae ye feel it is important tae use Scots in everyday life?<\/strong>
\nScots maun be used every day because yer tongue is nae museum exhibit and yer voice is nae archive specimen. A language confined to Burns Night, heritage and comedy is no being celebrated; it is being contained. Scots lives in homes, classrooms, workplaces and public debate, and should be allowed tae sprawl, shift, mutate and refuse a single spelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cProper language\u201d is never neutral. When pupils are praised for Scots in the playground but corrected for using it in serious work, they learn tae edit, translate and hide themselves. The polite sneer o \u201cuneducated\u201d becomes their inner voice. We should gie them English too, but never demand that they tidy their tongues for the comfort of authority.<\/p>\n

Scots doesnae need purified or stabilised. Its regional differences, hybrid forms, borrowed words and self-invented blether are no defects. They are evidence that it is alive. There is nae hierarchy and nae centre. Young people have the right tae break the wird, experiment, sound like naebody\u2019s approved model and be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Languages survive through use, no admiration. Stability is death. Scots isna broken, and it isna gaun awa. If we confine it to ceremony, we are no preserving it; we are managing it into silence.<\/p>\n

Dae ye hae a favourite Scots phrase or saying?<\/strong>
\nMy favourite Scots saying is wan ma grannie used whenever I pestered her tae buy me something: \u201cWho d\u2019ye think ah am\u2014Carnegie?\u201d She said it sae often that it became pairt o the soundtrack tae ma childhood, although it wis years afore I discovered who Andrew Carnegie actually was!<\/p>\n

Is there a Scots speaker who inspires you?<\/strong>
\nJimmy Reid inspires me because he showed that a working-class Scots voice could cairry intellectual weight, moral authority and political power. He didnae soften his language or background tae make himself acceptable. He spoke as ane o the people he represented and made nae apology for it.<\/p>\n

His leadership during the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in showed whit collective action could achieve. Reid rejected decisions being handed doon fae abuin while ordinary folk were expected tae accept the consequences. He believed people could organise, think critically and act thegither tae defend their communities and dignity.<\/p>\n

That principle shapes ma approach tae education. I dinna see young people as passive recipients o knowledge, waiting tae be telt whit matters. Through project-based learning, I ask them tae investigate real issues, encounter different perspectives, question power and create work wi purpose beyond the classroom. Whether exploring inequality, language, public health, the environment or international solidarity, pupils should experience themselves as capable citizens whose ideas matter.<\/p>\n

Growing up in Cumnock, Reid feels part o a tradition I recognise. He reminds me that education should build critical faculties, collective responsibility and courage: no teaching young folk tae ken their place, but helping them change it.<\/p>\n

Do you hear Scots spoken regularly in your local area? Have you noticed any changes over time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ony particlar career heighlichts<\/strong>
\nThere are a few career highlights in the Scots-centred projects I have led and delivered through Project-Based Learning at Banff Academy. They form a community-connected curriculum in which Scots isnae a decorative add-on, but a way of thinking, belonging and acting. Hundreds o young folk have used language tae investigate place, work wi communities and create work beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n

One highlight wis the \u2018Wirds o Banff\u2019 project, exploring disappearing Doric nature wirds and the declining biodiversity they name. Through woodland fieldwork, archives, oral histories, illustration and mapping, pupils recovered names for wildlife, habitats and landscapes. Their work became \u2018Wirds o Banff: A Doric Glossary o the Wild\u2019, a published book of poems, artwork and reflections. Scotland\u2019s Makar, Dr Peter Mackay, worked wi pupils, supported their writing and contributed the foreword. His involvement affirmed that their language and ideas deserved a national audience. Pupils created and signed a declaration tae protect nature and the Doric wirds used tae name it. The project carried Scots ayont Banff an aw, however. I arranged for young folk in Gaza tae write to oor pupils, describing how war had affected their lives, land, education and hopes. Oor young people listened and responded in Doric through letters and artwork. This placed Scots within a deeply emotional, serious context: it carried grief, compassion, witness and solidarity. It challenged Scots being confined tae humour, nostalgia or conversation. Pupils received Palestinian testimony wi dignity and answered in their ain language across distance.<\/p>\n

Anither highlight wis my \u2018Rivers Project\u2019, developed on the River Deveron. Working alongside the local Nawken community, pupils encountered Cant, a varied oral language used by Scottish Gypsy\/Traveller communities, wi wirds for water and travel. They explored the river as route, witness, cultural memory and living presence. The project connected environmental rights wi human rights and asked how society could gie nature a voice while marginalised folk remained unheard. Traveller knowledge entered the curriculum as living expertise, no a footnote.<\/p>\n

These projects built confidence in Scots, encouraged pupils tae share Doric wirds wi families, strengthened pride in place and created public audiences for their work. They demonstrated that Scots wisnae broken: its variation, hybridity and unsettled spelling were strengths.<\/p>\n

They confirmed ma belief that communities could become co-educators, wi pupils becoming researchers, writers, artists and citizens. These helped young folk recognise that their language carried knowledge, their ideas mattered, and they possessed the power tae question and change the world around them.<\/p>\n

Wha’s yer plans fir the days aheid?<\/strong>
\nOver the coming year, I intend tae continue working wi the local Nawken community, bringing Cant and their culture into the heart o our school. Pupils will learn Traveller songs, stories and oral histories frae knowledge-holders. This will present Cant as a living language and Traveller culture as contemporary knowledge, no something confined tae the past. This should build relationships based on respect, participation and trust.<\/p>\n

I intend tae develop and deliver a creative, pupil-led memorial exploring the Piper Alpha disaster and its North-east legacy. It is no distant history: its legacy remains present in families, coastal communities and the offshore industry. Pupils will investigate the 167 lives lost, listen tae testimony, explore workplace safety and consider how language, art and remembrance can honour them.<\/p>\n

Young people will create and lead a public memorial wi local people and offshore workers. Its purpose will be no simply tae recount a disaster, but tae recognise individual lives and understand how grief, work, identity and community are connected.<\/p>\n

These plans will continue my commitment tae a community-connected curriculum. Pupils should no only learn aboot their communities; they should work alongside them, preserve their stories and help decide how those stories are carried forward.<\/p>\n

Read more about Stewart Clelland<\/a>
\n<\/a>
\nFacebook: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stewartclelland<\/a>
\nX \/ Twitter: @StewartClell
\nInstagram: @stewart_clelland
\nTikTok: @<\/p>\n

The Scots Language Awards are in Dundee on the 19th September at 1pm. There wull be some grand entertainmint includin a recitals fae Yvonne Tait an Hugh Macmillan alang wi musical performances fae Iona Fyfe and Scott Gardiner.<\/p>\n

To attend the Scots Language Awards there are a few tickets remaining. Click here to reserve your tickets<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Join Elfie Picket Theatre for the Scots language nicht BLETHER, fur a nicht o music, poetry and stories aa celebratin Scots Leid & culture. We hae twa special guests jynin us and a wee open mic. Leadin us intae a big Dundee Fringe Ceilidh! Startin at 6pm, tickets \u00a310.<\/p>\n

If you would like to support Hands Up for Trad in their work with Scottish language please consider donating here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weel duin tae Stewart Clelland wha hae bin nominatit in Scots Teacher o the Year (sponsored by Qualifications Scotland) in the Scots Language Awards. Vote now! The 2026 Scots Language Awards tak place on Saturday 19th September at the iconic Discovery Centre, home of the RRS Discovery Ship (1pm). Reserve yer ticket here. The awards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nominee-2026","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/files\/2026\/08\/Photo-Me.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phaZzh-1R7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7139,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7137\/revisions\/7139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotslanguageawards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}