Tartan contest for pupils before Wick High School move

SECONDARY pupils in Wick have been challenged to create a new tartan that will celebrate relocating to their new school in nine months’ time.

Wick High has commissioned third-year art and design students to help design a new symbol for the school when it relocates to the new £48.5 million community campus in the autumn.

The idea came from guidance teacher Kieran Clasper who said: “I just felt it would be something appropriate to go along with the new school.”

Depute head Grant Mackenzie said with 2016 to mark a new beginning for the school, they felt it was important they celebrated the move with a new look.

He hoped it would be a project that would capture the imagination of the pupils.

“The project has been created in mind of the school moving from one building to the next,” he said.

“Craig Ross has incorporated his third-year class into creating the tartan which will hopefully inspire the students and increase their employability skills.”

The school invited Blackstairs Highlandwear proprietor Martin Gill to give a talk to students when the project was launched on Wednesday.

Mr Gill is no stranger to tartan design having created six Caithness tartans during his career.

He said whatever design the students come up with it will become a symbol of the school and could have a variety of uses.

“I was invited to offer them advice on what is wright and wrong when creating a tartan,” he said.

“Using the traditional colours of the school, I am helping the students put them in a mixing pot and see what they can come up with and what we can do.

“Ideally, we would like to see the tartan integrated into a number of items such as scarfs, ties, wallets, bags and badges.

“It is a great project which allows kids to use their imaginations. It could even be used for a kilt which students could hire for school proms.”

Faculty head of art design and technology Mr Ross said: “It is hoped the chosen tartan will be selected in five weeks’ time.

“The pupils will be working on their designs throughout the next month and then we will be regrouping again for presentations of potential ideas for the tartan.”

The school is also considering using the tartan to go with a new school uniform once it moves to the new community campus in October.

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