RHET gives ministers a lesson in food education

Trustees and staff of the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) and The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) converged at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 25th February to lobby ministers on the case for continued funding for RHET, as it continues its work to inspire and educate young people in food literacy.

Left to right RHASS chairman William Gill, John Scott MSP, RHET manager Katrina Barclay, Graeme Dey MSP, and RHASS chief executive Stephen Hutt

At the event, an audience of MSPs, supporters, media and stakeholders learned about the work of RHET which, through funding from various sources including the Scottish Government’s Food and Drink Division, enabled in excess of 700 classes, 15,000 pupils, to visit a farm in the last 12 months along with almost 30,000 pupils receiving a classroom talk.

In total, over 70,000 children each year receive hands-on experience of the variety and excellence of food and farming in Scotland.

RHET along with main funder, RHASS, brought together some key supporters at the event to help showcase the work undertaken to bridge the attainment gap throughout Scotland.

RHET manager Katrina Barclay said: “We take great pride in working with the farming and rural sector, without whom our work would not be possible.

“It is important we keep our services free and accessible to all of Scotland’s pupils but this requires secure funding, which is proving more challenging. This evening was a great opportunity to raise our profile amongst our MSPs and highlight work to date and the potential we have to work on addressing the attainment gap.”