Students roll up their sleeves to rebuild vintage tractor

Pupils at a Borders secondary school have been rolling up their sleeves to revive a vintage tractor.

Horticulture students at Selkirk High School have fully rebuilt a 1960s Massey Ferguson 35, as part of a move towards more hands-on, practical learning.

The project aims to shift away from traditional classroom teaching, giving pupils skills they can better engage with and take into future careers. They have also gained qualifications in land-based engineering, with two school-leavers progressing into further education in the field.

The fully-restored tractor made the journey to Edinburgh for a Classic Trucks and Tractor Show at the Royal Highland Education Centre at the weekend.

Anna Johnson is the outdoor learning youth worker and works with the students on a weekly basis.

She believes the project is helping to get more children involved at school with learning that is tailored to better suit them

"We have 100% attendance for this course and a lot of that is because it's practical and hands-on," she said.

Anna thinks courses like these will help keep traditional skills alive through coming generations.

"At the moment, we are at risk of losing all of these trades," she said.

"You have college courses that are closing and you have pathways for these guys that are closing.

"So if we don't introduce courses like these in our schools we are not going to have a workforce."

The project came about when Selkirk High School head teacher Jamie Bryson had a decaying tractor on his farm.

Students were then asked whether they would like to take it on as an agricultural engineering course.

Having completed the restoration 18 months later, the school has received offers to take on refurbishment projects for vintage tractors.

So with students keen to sign up, hopes are high that the course will be able to continue for years to come.

Anna said: "Groups have been in contact and we have a number of S2 pupils signing up.

"So we hope this is something we can carry on in the future."

Neil MacLennan is one of the students to benefit most from the project.

With a family background in agricultural machinery and tractors at home, he said the course had helped him build on that interest and take the next step into engineering when he leaves school this year.

"I had got into to it because of my papa, so we have a couple good ones at home as well," he said.

"This has really expanded my knowledge and I am going to be doing engineering at the college."

Neil said the class suited him better compared to traditional subjects.

"It's a lot better than sitting in a classroom I just get bored, you know, better doing something practical," he added.