Pupils win competition designing sustainable tourist destination

Pupils from Portsoy School have won a Scottish-wide competition to design a sustainable tourist destination. 

The competition, using Minecraft Education and developed by Skills Development Scotland, was open to all schools in Scotland.

Not only did the Aird Street school win first prize but also claimed the runner up spot too.

Primary 6 and 7 pupils, along with their teacher Janet Cheale, celebrated their win with trophies and Amazon vouchers.

She said: “It was a great learning experience for the pupils who were really engaged and innovative in their approach. They also demonstrated great resilience when things didn’t quite go to plan. I am so delighted for our pupils who worked very hard on this.”

The career/education game, developed within Minecraft Education in conjunction with Skills Development Scotland, saw the pupils design a sustainable tourist destination in the Cairngorm National Park.

First prize winners Cody, Kaiden and Kyle said their resort included a "restaurant where there was fish and other food" and a "lake outside of the restaurant where you can catch your own fish". The whole operation was powered by a windmill. 

Runner-up winners Darcy, Georgia and Eilish designed a resort around Loch Morloch. They said in their entry: "We had made a huge car park with electric charging points with some windmills around the back near a walk. Then with the Loch, it was a fun place to look at and you could go swimming in it. The cabins were made out of wood from trees that were then replanted."

Prizes were presented by Education Support Officer at Aberdeenshire Council Julia Rickard, who assisted in launching this new resource for schools.