Young people from Banff Academy presented a powerful project connecting their community with students in Palestine.
Banff Academy – one of 19 Excelerate partner schools supported by The Wood Foundation to deliver real-world community connected learning and teaching – invited families, local businesses and partners to celebrate their young people’s hard work.
Led by Banff Academy teacher Stewart Clelland with the help of Palestinian street artist Taqi Spateen, Repurposing the Past: Banff to Bethlehem saw Aberdeenshire pupils collaborate with young people from Hussan School for Boys, located near Bethlehem.
Over the last few months, Banff Academy’s S2 students worked with local creatives, storytellers and businesses to explore the themes of regrowth, renewal and regeneration, demonstrating how forgotten stories and reclaimed materials can inspire sustainable futures and positive change in their communities.
The young people’s artworks are now on display throughout Banff – including at The Smiddy, where the launch event took place on 17 April, and at The Forge, a community arts hub that supported the pupils in shaping their final pieces.
Other artworks created by Banff students are displayed on the Separation Wall in Bethlehem.
A Banff Academy pupil said: “I never thought my art could travel so far or mean so much. Seeing it on the Wall in Bethlehem felt like being part of something bigger.”
Through creativity and storytelling, this project transcended borders. At the event, as an act of solidarity, storyteller David Heathfield retold a young person’s story from Gaza. Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire’s Jackie Ross brought another story to life in Doric.
Attendees also heard from young people who emphasised this was more than just an arts project. They explained how they became more comfortable presenting their work to professionals and peers, improved their ability to articulate complex thoughts, developed a sense of global citizenship, learned to communicate across cultures, and became more empathetic.
Project-based learning (PBL) has been proven to be an effective and engaging way to motivate young people in their learning, allowing them to strengthen their skills, while driving forward work that is rooted in a real-world context.
The Wood Foundation’s Excelerate is an investment with ambition for system level change in education, focusing on the transformation of culture, collaboration, and pedagogy through professional learning and network opportunities which inspire new and innovative approaches.
One of those approaches is PBL. At its core, PBL is about learning through doing. It gives students a chance to tackle real-world challenges, make meaningful connections across subjects and create work that matters, not just in school, but in the wider community and beyond.
Ali MacLachlan, The Wood Foundation’s UK Director who attended the launch event, said: “Banff to Bethlehem is a fantastic example of PBL in action.
“We are keen to support empowered, informed, motivated and engaged young people who recognise their place, their responsibility, and their potential as global citizens and global contributors.
“The next workforce is going to have to change not just job, but career, an average of seven times. That kind of journey demands lifelong learning, adaptability and resilience. More than anything, we need to nurture a love of learning.
“Education is a critical part of that journey. We want our young people to thrive at every stage, and that means being seen, being heard and having a purpose. That is why The Wood Foundation invests in schools, practitioners, and culture and leadership.
“We are very proud of the talented young people, our Business and Community Support Officer Lucy Hogan, and the dedicated teachers and leadership team at Banff Academy.”
Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam, who also attended the launch, had previously lodged a motion in Holyrood to recognise the work of the young people.