Exciting chapter for Stromness Academy pupil named overall Fereday winner

The end of 2022 has proven to be an exciting chapter for Stromness Academy pupil, Magnus Groundwater, after he was named overall Fereday Prizewinner for his project into the history of the Stromness Library.

A virtual awards ceremony was held on Wednesday (14 December) to celebrate the efforts of S2 pupils from Stromness Academy and Kirkwall Grammar School who took part in the Fereday Prize for a local history investigation.

Magnus, 13, was placed first for Stromness Academy and named as overall winner for his investigation on Stromness Library: how has the library changed in Stromness over the past two centuries?

Magnus, who is a self-confessed bookworm, said: “For my Fereday project I looked at how the library has changed in Stromness over the last two hundred years, from when it was a small library above the Plainstones in Stromness to the big library that there is now.

“I really enjoyed finding out more about the library in Stromness. Before I started I didn’t know much about the library on Hellihole Road and nothing at all about the very first library on Victoria Street but I found out a lot of information from the old minute books and documents that you can access in the Orkney Library in Kirkwall.

“My favourite bits were looking through the Archives, finding articles in old Orcadians and speaking to people about their memories. I want to especially thank Carol Flett and Keely Donald at the Stromness Library for all their help – and Vikki Kerr at the main library too.”

Second prize went to Magnus Kirkpatrick (Is there archaeology in Outertown Stromness and is it important?) and third prize at Stromness Academy went to Rachel Sinclair (How did the plans for uranium mining impact and change Orkney? Is it still relevant today?.

Kirkwall Grammar School’s prizewinners this year were first Sophie Rendall with her project What is the History of Daisybank?(And how does it connect to the relics in my garden?). Second place was awarded to Finlay Moar with his investigation into How did I become interested in Fergus Wylie, his family, how they came to Live at Little Hunclett and how the farm and way of farming changed? Katie Brewer was placed third for her project on St Nicholas Kirk.

There around 130 entries of which 42 were also very highly commended.

The top projects from the year group are judged by members of the Orkney Heritage Society and of the 130 or so entries, 42 were highly commended.

Awards co-ordinator, Dr Tom Rendall of the OHS, said: “The Fereday Prize was set up by Willie Thomson past Rector of Kirkwall Grammar School, to continue the project work begun by Ray Fereday, formerly Principal Teacher of History at KGS.

“The prize is awarded annually for a historical investigation carried out by second year pupils in Orkney’s secondary schools. The standard of work of the best entries is extremely high and many contain original research.

“The judges felt Magnus’ piece of work was very well researched and presented and gave an interesting insight into the history of this important amenity. Our congratulations must be extended to all who entered as the standard of projects was very high.”

OIC Chair of the Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, Councillor Gwenda Shearer commended the efforts of all involved.

“A tremendous amount of research work by pupils goes into producing these fantastic projects – whether that be visiting libraries, sites of historic interest, conducting interviews or using online tools. Some very interesting – and often unknown – facts come to light as a direct result of the work undertaken which can then be documented for others to benefit from in years to come.

“On behalf of my fellow Councillors, I offer our congratulations to all who participated and those who received the prestigious prize awards. We also thank parents, family members and friends for their support to the young people during the research process.”