Formartine Youth Project was established in 2013 by the mid-Formartine churches of Udny & Pitmedden, Tarves, Methlick and Barthol Chapel to help meet the needs of young people in this rural area by creating safe accessible places and opportunities for them to meet: Be themselves, develop relationships, feel they Belong and Believe in themselves. Be, Belong, Believe.

In 2018 Jenny Cheung decided to take the plunge and leave her job to set up The Voice Project. She’s now working with 5 primary schools very week – 2 in North Lanarkshire, 1 in South Lanarkshire, 1 in North Ayrshire and 1 in Glasgow.

Over 8 years we really get to know these young people and their families. For many of those we work with simply being a consistent, trustworthy, interested adult can have a huge impact. More and more we find that schools are asking us to come alongside young people to work with them one to one, meeting weekly for a chat and offer of support.

A group of retired teachers from four difference churches across Perth, gather each Tuesday afternoon to run an after school Maths Help Club. Meeting in the youth room at Perth Baptist, the church provides an ideal location because of its proximity to both Perth High School and Perth Academy. 

Two congregations in Aberdeen recently partnered together with their local SU Regional Workers to deliver an interactive Easter event for local Primary 6 pupils. 

Sheddocksley Baptist Church in Aberdeen have partnered with TLG since May 2023 and have delivered 16 Make Lunch sessions over the summer and October holidays. This has enabled the church to reach children and families in the community in a really practical way and has opened the door to families accessing church.

IRVINE’S ‘Shoes Brothers’ are back with their latest festive feel good single - an Abba inspired version of Dance! Everybody Dance. Fresh off of recording in the studio, the duo, comprising Father Wullie Boyd and the Rev Neil Urquhart have spent the week filming a music video to accompany the song this week. And the performing pair pulled off the Christmas cracker with a little help from their friends in the local community

Scottish actor and director David Hayman this week marked the opening of a new mural created by a group of young people at St Marks Church in Drumchapel. From the church’s perspective, involvement in the project helped give young people a meaningful connection with the church and provided the opportunity to build relationships with young people who might not otherwise cross the threshold.

Café Philosophie is a new initiative aimed at Secondary pupils organised by Fountainhall Church in association with Queen’s Cross and Harlaw Community Council and Ashley/Broomhill Community Council. Meeting once or twice per month at Fountainhall at the Cross, Café Philosophie offers an opportunity for S5 and S6 pupils from local schools to learn from people prominent in their field of expertise.

Since we began in 2012, we’ve learned there’s no one size fits all approach to schools work, and over the years we have been inspired by the many creative ways churches across the country have done just that. We know that it can be daunting knowing where to begin, and tempting to look at other examples of what churches are doing and think ‘we couldn’t do that’. But as we hear about the different ways churches are supporting their local schools,  I’m continually struck by the power of offering what we do have.