Letter: Save our schools

TWENTY years ago, in a West Highland hotel, I saw a wonderful sight. Five children sitting in the bar, waiting for the next bus to take them home, were joined by two local musicians. Fiddles appeared and an impromptu lesson began.

The kids were enthralled; these guys were local heroes. The music was thrilling; the craic even better as the big boys cajoled the younger ones into trying one more difficult tune. We were all smiling.

There was no shame here for a boy carrying a fiddle case or a girl playing the bagpipes. The musical tradition had never died. It was clinging to life here in these far flung parts of the Highlands.

Dougie Pincock had the vision to see both the potential and the problems of talented children living in remote Highland communities whose love for music was in their very bones And so the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music was born at Plockton High School. A safe haven where talented children could live, learn and develop their musical skills.

Tomorrow, Highland Council may decide to withdraw all funding for the school which would close next year. I have some sympathy with Highland Council. Cuts are our mantra these days. But the school at Plockton is different; it is a national asset and requires a national and imaginative response to funding.

I have heard the music of the Plockton students in Applecross and Grand Central Station, New York.

Their enthusiasm, skill, and confidence is awe-inspiring. They are Scotland's finest ambassadors but need no embassy. They need their school.

Anne M Keenan

Roshven

Lochailort