Funding supports a year of trips, equipment and events

Auchterless School Parent Council (ASPC) represents the parents and carers of pupils at Auchterless Primary School in Aberdeenshire, working alongside the school to support pupils' education and wellbeing and to give parents a say in matters affecting the school.

The Project

Following the closure of nearby Fisherford Primary in 2024, the community decision-making panel behind the Nadara Gordonstown Wind Farm Community Fund became concerned about the future of Auchterless Primary and the role it plays in holding the community together. Rather than wait for an application, the Panel asked Foundation Scotland to approach the Parent Council directly and help put together a funding package.

Working with school staff and the ASPC and following consultation with pupils and parents through classroom discussions and school bag surveys, funding worth £41,760.81 was agreed in November 2024. 

The funding was split across three areas: transport and consumables (£17,200), equipment (£12,463.81), and events and activities (£12,097). The aim was to fund the things that fall outside the local authority's statutory responsibilities: the trips, extras and equipment that make school life richer but which schools can rarely afford on their own budgets.

Equipment purchased included a portable stage, PA system and portable lighting, sports and playground equipment, outdoor learning kit, and a set of programming and robotics kits for the classroom. The remaining funds were earmarked for transport to trips and outdoor learning sessions, swimming lessons, and a programme of class trips and whole-school events over the following year.

What the Funding Achieved

By the end of June 2026, the funding had covered a wide range of activity across all three classes at Auchterless Primary. Whole-school swimming lessons at Turriff Pool restarted, running one class at a time, one day a week. A whole-school trip to see the panto at HMT Aberdeen went ahead, along with a weekly bus to Balhouly Wood for outdoor learning sessions across two terms.

Class trips funded through the year included visits to The Farmstop, Aden Country Park, Cineworld, Aberdeen beach, Tamala Farm, Pittodrie Stadium, Castle Fraser, Turriff Heritage Museum and TechFest Aberdeen. Zoolab also visited the school to run rainforest discovery sessions with live animals for every class and proved popular enough that a return visit has already been booked for next term. A new after-school STEM coding club started in term four and has been offered to pupils free of charge.

The new stage, PA system and lighting were put to use for the school panto, and the equipment has also been made available to the Auchterless Residents Association for use at community events. The year closed with the Auchterless Fun Day on 17 June, bringing together pupils, staff, parents, the local councillor, church representatives and the residents association, with music, face painting, magic and animal shows, and ice cream for every child, including those due to start P1 from playgroup.

Wider Outcomes

Beyond the day-to-day activities, the project has given the school a stage, sound and lighting set-up that the wider community can also use and has strengthened ties between the Parent Council and the Auchterless Residents Association, who are named to inherit the equipment under a loan agreement should the school ever close. The Fun Day and panto also gave the village a couple of shared occasions to gather outside of the usual school calendar.
With Fisherford Primary having closed in 2024, the Panel's aim in putting this funding together was to help keep Auchterless Primary an attractive, well-resourced school for local families, supporting the school roll and, with it, the wider sustainability of the community it sits within.

Read more about the Nadara Gordonstown Community Fund - Auchterless, Inverkeithny & Fisherford.