Tour guiding and TV stars – Sanday School students share the inside story on their island’s heritage!

A number of students at Sanday Junior High School have been given a taste of life as a tour guide and the film industry as part of a project to give them, and others, a better understanding of the island’s heritage.

S1 – S3 pupils have teamed up with Stromness-based film maker, Mark Jenkins, as part of an education and learning project funded and run by the North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme (NILPS).

More specifically, the pupils have been getting an insight into tour guiding and how to make a film to showcase what the island has to offer as part of the “Sanday Tour”.

NILPS education project co-ordinator, Katy Firth, said: “Although funded by NILPS, the project has been led by Sanday School in partnership with local tour guides to give pupils a deeper understanding and appreciation of Sanday’s heritage in all forms.

“The experience has enabled young people to develop their ‘soft’ skills such as confidence, public speaking, storytelling, organisational skills and teamworking. Pupils have been instrumental in defining the tour, research and writing the script.

“The film will ensure there is a lasting legacy which will be available online to give others a real inside look at what the island has to offer, from the perspective of the young people who live there.”

The project began in the autumn of 2022 when 12 pupils met local Sanday tour guide Ute Clackson.  Ute spent Friday afternoons in the classroom imparting knowledge about tour guiding, explaining to the pupils that it involves performance and storytelling, not just communicating facts.

The students then chose the sites in Sanday to feature in the film and began researching them with the help of folk in the community. They wrote the scripts themselves too, to share their knowledge in an interesting way, even enjoying a session with a drama specialist to hone their skills.

Kate Hooper, class teacher, said: “The pupils had an online session with local film maker Mark Jenkins.  They learned about storyboarding and how to introduce the viewer to their sites.

The audio for their tour guide film was recorded by an older pupil in the school, who has gained and improved recording techniques following guidance from Mark.

“Mark visited Sanday at the start of this month to film the pupils on-location at their tour sites, which include the Airport; Quoyness Chambered Cairn; Walter Traill Dennison's grave; Burness (Saville beach); Loth; B98 at Lopness; Start Point lighthouse; Cata Sand and the Burnt Mound in Lady.

“The pupils have worked very hard to get the project to the stage where we could have it filmed. We couldn’t have got to this point without the support we received. The pupils have left behind an amazing legacy.”

The pupils will also receive Heritage Hero Awards from Archaeology Scotland to recognise the work they have put into the project.

More details will follow on the film’s release date and where to view it.

The project is funded by North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme, a £4.5m programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, Orkney Islands Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, NatureScot and the Orkney LEADER 2014-2020 programme that will support projects that promote the culture, heritage and landscape of the North Isles and will run until December 2024.