Young people in Inverness have been building bridges to possible future careers this week as part of the Highland Promise - An Gealladh Mòr, the element of Highland 2007 that places Highland schoolchildren at the heart of the celebrations.

Pupils from Merkinch Primary (see photograph) along with pupils from Central, St Joseph’s, Bishop Eden’s and Dalneigh Primaries have been taking part in bridge building workshops provided by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). With almost 100 pupils from each school taking part.

The workshops help raise awareness of the Civil Engineering Profession among Primary School pupils and give the pupils an early insight into the challenges of Civil Engineering while having some fun along the way.

At the events the children constructed an 8m span cable stayed bridge using a kit supplied by the ICE. The events were supervised by volunteer Civil Engineers who helped the children build the bridge. Once the bridge was constructed, the pupils walked across it to show the strength of the construction then dismantled it all again.

To help the children understand the different types of construction the workshops illustrated several different types of bridges at a local level including the Kessock Bridge (Cable-stayed), Ballachulish Bridge (Truss type), Skye Bridge (Cantilever type) and Kylesku Bridge (Beam).

The ICE workshop is touring various Highland schools as part of The Highland Promise.

Sheena Morrison, head teacher of Merkinch Primary School, said: “What a great opportunity this has been for the children to engage in active learning – not just reading books, drawing pictures but putting on hard hats and actually building a bridge which you and your classmates can cross. This is the perfect project to celebrate Inverness being a city of bridges and Scotland a nation famous for its engineers.”

John McPartlin, ‘Bridges to Schools’ co-ordinator from the Institution of Civil Engineers, added: “This has been a tremendous event for us as we have been to Ardnamurchan, Skye and Lochalsh as well as Scourie, Bettyhill and the Black Isle before arriving in Inverness. All in all we are bringing Civil Engineering to over 2000 children throughout the Highlands.”

Fiona Hampton, director of Highland 2007, said: “The Highland Promise is a key feature of the Highland 2007 celebrations, allowing young people to take part in cultural experiences they might not otherwise have had access to. This project is a great example of the exciting and fun range of activities available to young people throughout the Highlands.”

The Highland Promise - An Gealladh Mòr is the cultural pledge to young people in the Highlands by all the Highland 2007 partners, The Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Executive, that young people of school age in The Highland Council area will be able to participate in events that cover each of the six strands of culture in Highland 2007; arts, sport, heritage, language, science and environment.

Funding for The Highland Promise has been provided by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, The Highland Council, Leader+, Morrison Construction and LifeScan Scotland Ltd.

Each school group received an allocated budget and a menu of almost 100 activities to choose from. Young people played a major role in the decision making as to which activities they would take part in throughout the year.

For more information about the Highland Promise visit the Highland 2007 website – www.highland2007.com