Fereday Awards Ceremony held online – winners announced

A virtual awards ceremony was held this week 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.

Stromness Academy’s Olivia Scott was placed 1st for her investigation on “Shopping changes in Evie and Costa” and named overall winner in Orkney; the Academy’s 2nd prize was awarded to Ashley Sutherland who researched the “History of Ramsquoy Farm in Stenness” and 3rd prize was given to Lucy Kenyon for her work on “Willie Farquhar and the Golden Slipper”.

Kirkwall Grammar School’s prizewinners this year were 1st – Maisie Reid with her project titled: “60 years of the Mini: What made it a popular choice for Orcadians across the decades?”. In 2nd place was Thorfinn Scott with “Why did the egg industry in North Ronaldsay collapse?” and third prize was awarded to Libby Harcus on her work on “Have Christmas Celebrations Changed in Orkney Since 1950?”

Also pictured are the pupils whose Fereday entries were highly commended.

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 schools. The standard of work of the best entries is extremely high and many contain original research.

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.”

Photo captions: The Fereday Prize overall winner was awarded to Stromness Academy’s Olivia Scott, centre. She is flanked by 2nd placed student, Ashley Sutherland, right, and 3rd placed Lucy Kenyon.

Kirkwall Grammar School’s Thorfinn Scott, Maisie Reid and Libby Harcus achieved Fereday success in this year’s Awards.

Fellow highly commended Fereday winners at KGS.