Sounds fun at Rothiemay Primary

Pupils at Rothiemay Primary School are to take part in a unique and innovative national educational programme which uses the environment as inspiration for creative arts and ICT activities.

The project – called Sonic Postcards - aims to explore and compare the local sound environments which surround young people across the UK.

In Moray, it has been jointly funded by Moray Council and the Scottish Arts Council through the Cultural Co-ordinator in Scottish Schools programme.

Rothiemay pupils at all stages will be involved in exploring their local ‘soundscape’ and create artwork, journals and maps of the sounds they hear all around them.

They will participate in art sessions and recording excursions and learn techniques in composition, all of which link with expressive arts, social studies, science and English curriculum outcomes.

Using digital music technology on computers, pupils become sound engineers by making their own ‘sonic postcards’ using music software.

The project, run by national sound organisation Sonic Arts Network, encourages schools to exchange their completed postcards with others schools via broadband internet connections.

By doing so they gain an insight into their own environment and share a range of sonic experiences with schools elsewhere, opening windows on new places, other lives and different cultures.

Project director Rebecca Laurence said: "This is often the first experience pupils have of concentrated listening and they surprise themselves with what they hear.

"Suddenly they are tuning in to everyday sounds that are often taken for granted and they find themselves significantly developing their aural perception of the world. This project is about listening through a partnership of technology and creativity."

Claire Wright, Moray Council’s cultural co-ordinator manager, described Sonic Postcards as an exciting project.

"It is creative in a variety of ways, transcends the curriculum and engages pupils across the whole primary school," she said.