It was with great pleasure that RHET Angus Countryside Initiative Chair Amy Geddes visited Borrowfield Primary School last week to present them with the Royal Highland Education Trust’s Charles Brown Trophy. Amy was very impressed by what she saw, saying “It was my first visit to Borrowfield Primary and to see the amazing amount of growing going on and the positivity about being part of the Veggie Village from the children is brilliant. I wish them all the best in their continued success with this project”.
This impressive trophy was kindly donated by the family of the Late Charles Brown, to be presented in a different RHET area each year on rotation. The RHET area’s Committee has to choose the winning school based on the criteria that it is awarded for excellence in partnership working with RHET.
ACI’s work covers Angus and Dundee, so Borrowfield stood out from a field of over 100 schools as being the school who have not only taken every opportunity they have been offered by RHET ACI, but have also worked with RHET ACI Project Co-ordinator Carol Littlewood to maximise the experience the school’s pupils get from every event. They have also linked with other partners alongside RHET ACI to further enhance the pupils learning and the benefits from what each partner organisation can offer.
A case in point was Head Teacher Mrs Milloy reaching out to RHET ACI to see if they knew a farmer to plough up a bit of the playing field so they “could grow more veg”. Working with RHET Committee member Willie Officer, his tractor man Jim Skene, Jim’s son Arron who was very kindly release for the day by Agricar, this became a” Tractor Day”, with all 250 pupils coming out to see ploughing happening live and to see Jim’s brand new tractor compared to Arron’s 50 year old one he uses for ploughing matches.
Borrowfield’s Head Teacher Mrs Milloy said “Borrowfield is incredibly proud to have been awarded this prestigious recognition of our efforts over the past couple of years. What started off as a small seed of an idea has grown into a flourishing Veggie Village! Led by Mrs Shepherd, with the help of other volunteers who aren’t all staff, our Veggie Village provides our children with the sense of wonder and achievement when growing and tasting their own food. It teaches them how to care and look after things while respecting and being aware of our eco system and providing sustainability. It also gives great joy and there is nothing better than seeing the happy, smiling faces picking and eating fresh rhubarb, shelling peas and waiting patiently for the strawberries to ripen! It is something we would urge all schools to try, even on a small scale. Receiving the Charles Brown trophy is the icing on the cake for Borrowfield – thank you!
Mrs Shepherd is a School Pupil Support Assistant at the school and has been RHET’s main link with the school. She has been involved in all the sessions, including a group visiting the Scottish Ploughing Championships, classes taking part in our Angus Potato
Project and participating in Talk To A Farmer, with classes joining some of the talks and along with some of the children she stared in a session that was then available to all schools in Scotland. Mrs Shepherd said “Winning the Charles Brown Award means so much to me because it recognises something that I have poured my heart into.
The Charles Brown Award celebrates giving children meaningful opportunities to learn outdoors, and that’s exactly what we’ve worked so hard to create. Every day, our children have the chance to explore, investigate, discover and connect with nature.
It’s also special because it celebrates our partnership with the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET). Winning this award validates all the planning, hard work and determination that often goes unseen.
I’m so proud because this award isn’t just about receiving a trophy. It’s recognition that we’ve made a genuine difference to children’s lives. Watching them learn, grow and thrive through outdoor education is the greatest reward, and having that recognised through the Charles Brown Award makes every bit of hard work worthwhile.
Perhaps most importantly, this award comes at a very meaningful time. As our wonderful head teacher, Mrs Milloy, retires, it also celebrates the vision, passion and commitment that we have shared. It is a fitting way to recognise everything our school community has achieved together and a lovely way to mark the end of such an important chapter.
Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to RHET for our wonderful prize—a trip to the Royal Highland Show. We had an absolutely fantastic day and created memories that will stay with us for years to come. Thank you for recognising our work and for continuing to inspire schools to give children the very best opportunities to learn through the outdoors.”
Another key partner in all the work going on at Borrowfield Primary School is New Solutions. Director Gail Penman came along to the presentation and was also integral in getting a group of pupils from the school along for a free visit to the Royal Highland Show, also part of their prize.
Gail has been woring with the school to build further on the love of growing, she commented “NEWSolutions benefited from grant funding that made it possible to deliver an intergenerational project involving school pupils, 16+ young people, and The Montrose Befrienders. Together, they met regularly to develop the sensory garden at Borrowfield School.
Watching the generations come together was truly inspiring. As they shared stories, exchanged skills, and worked side by side, it became clear just how much they had to offer one another. The project highlighted the value of intergenerational connections, demonstrating that people of all ages have so much to share, learn, and gain through meaningful collaboration.”
So congratulations again to Borrowfield, happy retirement to Mrs Milloy and we look forward to working with Borrowfield and other partners at the school in the future.
