Scottish Catholic Observer

OUR Lady of St Francis Primary school in Carfin marked the centenary of the Education Act in style, at one of many upcoming occasions held outside Carfin Grotto.

The school’s 308 pupils flocked to the grotto across the road from the school to form a huge ‘100’ in admiration of the act that saw Catholic education become state-funded.

Geraldine Shearer, headteacher of Our Lady of St Francis, joked that steering so many pupils to the grotto was ‘no mean feat.’

“The centenary, which saw Catholic schools go from being Church-funded to state-funded, is being marked and people are celebrating all over Scotland,” she said.

“So, as a Catholic school, we’ve been attempting to mark that in our own unique way, which is why we took the pupils over to the grotto for the occasion. Because there are over 300 of them, it was quite a task!”

The school’s marking of the occasion didn’t end there however, as staff and pupils enjoyed a picnic in further celebration of the 100-year landmark.

They had initially planned to have the picnic outside the grotto but, due to poor weather conditions, they decided to eat in the school grounds instead.

“It was really nice and the pupils had a great time,” Ms Shearer said. “We really wanted to go back to the grotto but the grass was too wet because of the rain over the last couple of days.

“We also held a pupil’s voice meeting, where they can have their say in how we celebrate the centenary over the coming weeks, and what they want to happen in the school.”

Ms Shearer credited her staff for their help over the course of the day, including Oonagh Taggart, the school’s RE coordinator, for her valuable assistance.