Education Secretary Visits Compass School’s Award-Winning Growing Friendships Initiative
- Partner Content
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
Compass School in East Lothian welcomed the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Education & Skills, Jenny Gilruth, on Thursday 5 Feb to one of its Growing Friendships intergenerational sessions in partnership with Our Community Kitchen (OCK). The visit highlighted the schools’ and organisations’ joint Excellence Award for Confronting Age Discrimination and Stereotypes.
During the session, the Cabinet Secretary engaged fully with participants as they explored how life and living have changed over the past 70 years. She enjoyed meeting and spending time with Compass School’s Primary 7 pupils and their older friends from Our Community Kitchen, witnessing firsthand the positive relationships that have formed over two years through the Growing Friendships project and the educational benefits these connections bring.
The visit was also attended by Kshitija Singh, Policy & Campaign Officer of Generations Working Together, and Elaine Gale, founder and manager of OCK, alongside Compass School’s leadership team.
Headteacher Mr Mark Becher commented: “We were honoured to receive a visit from the Cabinet Secretary and it provided a great opportunity for Our Community Kitchen and ourselves to share with Ms. Gilruth the benefits of our award-winning project and let the Minister see first-hand how rich and positive the experiences are when our children and their older friends from Our Community Kitchen come together for our intergenerational sessions. Ms. Gilruth was keen to understand how the project has evolved and to discover more about the countless benefits it has brought to all who have been involved. What a great morning we all had together and as we discussed and shared our ideas, hopes and aspirations, with lots of fun and laughter key features of the morning!”
Jenny Gilruth said: “It was a pleasure to join The Compass School and Our Community Kitchen for one of their Growing Friendships sessions. Intergenerational approaches like this create meaningful connections between older and younger people, helping both feel valued and included. For children, these activities build confidence and improve language development, social communication skills and emotional regulation. For older participants, they reduce social isolation and loneliness while recognising the positive contribution they make to their communities. Projects like Growing Friendships challenge age-based stereotypes, foster mutual respect, and strengthen community cohesion.”
