Schools orienteering: Raft of Scots shine at Beecraigs Park event

Rowan White (Charleston Academy), the Banchory Academy pair of Abigail Mason and Frances Wright plus Boroughmuir High School brothers, Chris and Matthew Galloway, were among the Scottish winners at the recent British Schools’ Championships at Beecraigs Park in Linlithgow.

They have all been rewarded with selection for the Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad under coach Maureen Brown.

“We have a very strong squad and the aim is to increase the opportunities for our school-age participants,” said Edinburgh-based Brown. “We have two main competitions this year, the Junior Inter Regional Championships and the Junior Home Internationals.

“There are 24 selections for the 12-team Inter Regional – Scotland, Ireland, Wales plus nine English regions – and Scotland has finished in the top two for the past ten years.”

Banchory Academy won the overall title in the large secondary school category at the British Schools’ Championships – a tribute to the hard work of local coach Denise Wright (Frances’s mother) who also has a strong squad at Aboyne Acdemy.

The other Scottish winners at Beecraigs Park were Lindsay Robertson (Bearsden Academy), Eilidh Shearer (Taynuilt Primary), Alistair Chapman (Hill of Banchory Primary) and Denise’s son, Joseph Wright (Banchory Primary), but they are too young for the Scottish squad.