Glasgow Shows Sense Over Sectarianism

This week Nil by Mouth took its STEM Together project into Glasgow schools for the first time as part of its partnership with the city council’s Sense over Sectarianism (SOS) programme.

Primary 7 pupils from Oakgrove and St Jospeh’s Primary School's joined Nil by Mouth Director Dave Scott and SOS Officer Declan Walsh for a morning of kart building and problem solving as they raced against the clock to complete the challenge.

SOS Officer Declan Walsh faked one of the karts for a spin

SOS delivers workshops, activities and its hugely popular Communities United sessions which bring denominational and non-denominational schools together. 2026 sees the programme celebrate its 25th anniversary and in that time tens of thousands of young Glaswegians have benefited from its work, learning more about the past and helping to build a brighter future.  

The new partnership will allow schools who have participated in SOS activity together to also benefit from Nil by Mouth’s STEM programme which uses state of the art STEM materials to help children enhance key technical skills. Since being launched in April 2025 over 50 schools have taken part across Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, Clackmannanshire, West Lothian, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders.

Dave Scott said:

‘STEM Together has proved a hugely popular programme over the past 12 months and we are delighted to be able to bring it to Glasgow schools in conjunction with SOS. It’s always good to see the pupils mix so easily and solve problems together. What was really great to hear was how much information from the SOS inputs the children had retained even though they took place several months ago. That shows the huge benefits this type of partnership work brings to Glasgow and the generational impact SOS has had, and will no doubt continue to have, on the city.’

Declan Walsh added:

‘Sense Over Sectarianism has always been about bringing young people together, helping them understand Glasgow’s history while building respect and friendships across communities. Partnering with Nil by Mouth and the STEM Together programme adds another really positive dimension to that work. Activities like this show pupils that when they collaborate, share ideas and support one another, they can achieve far more than they would on their own. It’s been fantastic to see the enthusiasm from both schools and to watch the pupils learning, solving problems and enjoying the experience together.”