Edinburgh Schools Programme Kicks Off

Nil by Mouth has been awarded funding from the Ponton House Trust to bring it’s ‘Us & Them’ project to schools in Edinburgh.

The programme helps young football fans explore the passion, pantomime and poison around the sport in Scotland as well as consider the consequences of sectarianism and other forms of discrimination on individuals and society.

Writer and broadcaster Daniel Gray has been a big supporter of the programme.

Ran in partnership with schools it provides participants with a regular space in their timetables to take part in Nil by Mouth workshops, podcasting sessions and the chance to meet footballers who have stood up to discrimination in the sport.

The Ponton Trust is a grant-making body whose objective is to support targeted action which will help young people in the Edinburgh and Lothian area.  Since 1993 the Trust has distributed more than £1.75 million and its' latest donation will help support Nil by Mouths' work in the east coast ofScotland.

Nil by Mouth Director, Dave Scott said:

‘The aim of this project is to help young men consider issues around identity and how they express theirs and treat that of others. It is has proved successful to date with young people being able to use their love of football to consider some of the big questions and choices they must make as they reach adulthood. We’ve had several schools in Edinburgh get in touch of the back of the programmes in Paisley, Greenock, Forfar and Selkirk asking to take part and through the kindness of the Ponton House Trust we can now bring our range of guest speakers such as Kevin Harper, Zander Murray and Daniel Gray to work with their pupils.

Us & Them has proven to be one of our most successful education programmes and that’s because there is growing need in society to help young men consider attitudes and behaviours in a way that meets them where they are and ask the big questions rather than force-feed them answers. Teachers point to the strong levels of attendance at sessions, often from pupils who can be quite disengaged from other parts of the curriculum and highlight the positive feedback they get from the young people on what they have been doing or talking about. We look forward to bringing the programme to Edinburgh and starting a conversation with the young people involved.’