Open Day success at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI held an Open Day on Friday 1 November for secondary school pupils, young people and indeed anyone with an interest in the Gaelic courses on offer at the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture on the Isle of Skye.
This was the largest open day event the college had held to date and was very well attended with over sixty individuals on campus.
The event was created, in the first instance, to engage with S.5/S.6 school pupils who would be leaving school in a year or two, and to bring to their attention all the options available to them, were they to continue their Gaelic education at Sabhal Mòr, on leaving school. The invitation was also extended to anyone, at any age, with an interest in doing a Gaelic course; and many of those who came had previously undertaken learning Gaelic via the Distance Learning programme offered by the college or had experienced SMO’s Short Courses.
Visitors on the day received a warm welcome from college Principal, Dr Gillian Rothach, and also from Course Leaders, staff and students. They were taken on a tour around campus and got firsthand testimonies of what it would be like to be a student there from current SMO students.
Pupils and teachers travelled from a variety of schools from all around the country; Inverness, Oban, Bishopbriggs, East Kilbride and Portree. While some other attendees travelled from as far south as the Borders.
The event was organised by SMO Recruitment Officer, Megan MacLellan, who said: “We had a very successful day – we were delighted with the number of young people who visited us on Friday and are very grateful to the schools for supporting the event. Not only was it encouraging for us, but it’s a very good thing for Gaelic, also, that many young people want to continue with the language after they have left school.”
There will be another opportunity for individuals to visit Sabhal Mòr and for the many opportunities therein to be presented, at the Applicants’ Day, which will be held at SMO on 20 March 2020.