Valerie MacGregor, a parent of three children currently attending Edinburgh’s Gaelic Unit, has collated a history of the Unit’s conception as part of the 20th anniversay celebrations of GME in Edinburgh.  This is a first hand account from the parents and the staff then involved which brings to light the vision they shared along with their commitment and determination to make GME in Edinburgh a reality.

It makes a fascinating read and demonstrates that Gaelic Education in Edinburgh is in a perpetual state of growth and development…..

• It all started in 1981 with a pre-school toddler group. Initially, this met once a week in the French Institute but it quickly expanded into the old church hall at Greyfriars Church; and, with the setting up of Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Araich in 1982, it became part of a wider support network for Gaelic playgroups across Scotland.

• Edinburgh City Council then offered the use of two rooms at Tollcross Primary School and the weekly playgroup soon evolved into a daily nursery class. And by 1988 the growth of the movement had enabled parents to lobby successfully for a council backed Primary Gaelic Class. Those involved welcomed the new P1-P3 composite class with only 7 children as a first step, but soon realised it was only the beginning of the campaign.

• Once these classes became firmly established their growth began to accelerate. The success of the unit and achievement of the pupils gave the parents more confidence in the language and in the movement.

“You had to constantly plead your case. When there were enough pupils for another class there was a fight for a second teacher…” (Katie Murray).

 “Because we were doing something different, people often questioned what we were doing and watched us closely with a lot of interest and curiosity” (Katie Murray).

 “There was a feeling among some Gaels that being taught through Gaelic would be a drawback and not provide as powerful an education. Many Gaels a generation ago went to school without any English and saw that as a problem. … Scots had been taught the language as a subjects but it was a huge step to teach it as a medium of learning. Many Gaels felt uncomfortable with that” (Donald Meek).

And about the protagonists:
 
• A small group of young parents, who met at the city’s ceilidhs and Gaelic church services. These were the first instigators of the movement, native and fluent Gaelic speakers, or who had an island or highland connection. They recognised the importance of the language for their children and saw the education system as a way of ensuring the transmission of Gaelic to the next generation.

• As the movement started to grow, the group would become a mixture of Gaelic speakers and English speakers, with parents from other linguistic backgrounds also becoming interested and involved.

• In those first years, everything was also done on a voluntary basis. Eventually the movement started receiving some funding, but it was never guaranteed beyond a year and was fought for annually.

• By 1988 government educationists got involved in the process, helping the parents through all the practicalities and providing a tremendous amount of support. The feeling in the eighties was “now or never”, and what exists today is the result of the committed parents and teachers who decided it was time to accept the challenge.

“Nobody in Edinburgh knew what GM teaching entailed … I created my own structure and guidelines as I went along, learning from many mistakes” (Mona Wilson).

 “…a strong community spirit was created through the support of the parents, the dedication of teachers and the success of the children… Everybody was in it together and that really helped to get the best out of everybody. As staff confidence grew, we shared resources, ideas, expertise and used each other’s skills. It was a team teaching from the start. Twenty years on I think we can see that our wee experiment has exceeded all expectations” (Mona Wilson).

 “Looking at the position of Gaelic now compared with the early 1980s when we started the Gaelic pre-school in Edinburgh, I realize that we have come a long way. But it has not been without pain and sacrifice on the part of many people and still we have to fight for every inch of progress. That fledgling Gaelic pre-school group in Edinburgh is now celebrating a little over a quarter of a century, and has Gaelic medium nursery and primary school for the children to go on to. But much work still needs to be done in developing Gaelic medium secondary education and Gaelic medium activities in the community. There is no room for complacency, but there is room for hope” (Keith Scammel).