Former Alness Academy teacher ready for fresh challenge with key role for The Place youth group in Easter Ross
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A TEACHER familiar to countless pupils at an Easter Ross high school admits he feels a weight off his shoulders since stepping away from the classroom.
Privately, many teachers will tell you of the increasing strains of a job which brings challenges on multiple fronts.
Some will tell you of the difficulties faced engaging with large classes of teenagers, some considerably less interested in the academic life than others.
Others will tell you about the lack of respect shown by an increasing number of pupils to teachers just trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
And then there’s the paperwork...
Yet many are driven by the knowledge of the life-changing impact a great teacher can have on their pupils. Most of us, after all, could name that one teacher who believed in us or whose encouragement set us on a path towards personal fulfilment.
Former Alness Academy English teacher, Gordon Robertson, will almost certainly feature on that list for some pupils, many inspired by his eight-year leadership of the school’s Rock Challenge programme, offering a creative outlet for many still figuring out what it is they want from life.
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For some it has meant a chance to step into the limelight, perhaps for the first time in their lives. For others, an opportunity to pull the strings behind the scenes and play a key role in putting on a mind-blowing show.
Mr Robertson though won’t be steering clear of these pupils he has inspired down the years as he steps into his new role – project manager of The Field with long-established youth group, The Place.
The Field is an open area of land on the edge of town developed as an outdoor space as we were coming out of the coronavirus lockdown. The use of well-ventilated stretch tents offered a godsend solution at a time when concerns were being voiced for the mental and physical welfare of young people subject to prolonged periods of isolation in deeply uncertain times.
Janette Douglas, a leading light with The Place, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of our new and exciting role. The Place staff and management committee couldn’t be happier to welcome Gordon Robertson to the team.
“Through his time at Alness Academy, Gordon has developed strong relationships with our local young people over the years and has had tremendous success in every avenue he has taken. Gord’s involvement with Rock Challenge and JRock is just one example of this success.
“Gordon has given up countless amount of hours during his spare time to help our team over the years through many projects and we are very excited to now have him on board to further develop The Field. We would like to wish him the best of luck with his brand new adventure working alongside the rest of the team.”
Mr Robertson called it “a great opportunity to work with kids who are not necessarily going to go down the academic road”, noting the high rate of attendance at group sessions.
He sees a huge opportunity with working groups teaching skills like woodworking and gardening. He said: “The freedom they will have working outside will be huge.”
The possibility of young people growing the flowers for Alness High Street displays is an exciting one: “They could bring on the flowers and then see them as they are on the street.” That, he believes, could be a powerful thing.
Of the Rock Challenge, he said: “A huge variety of kids got involved and that was great.
“I’ve worked for a while with kids outside of the classroom. I’ve seen it for many years volunteering for the youth club. I can see kids change completely.
“It’s the first opportunity for many getting a chance to learn something outside of the classroom.”
He admits to feeling a weight of his shoulders since retiring and admits he was “looking for a new challenge”. He’s excited that young people can gain meaningful qualifications through youth achievement.
Describing himself as born and bred Easter Ross, the Rock Challenge guru is now ready for the next act...
