A successful Schools Day at Atholl Estates

On 28th May 2025 nursery and primary schools from the Perth & Kinross Council area enjoyed a brilliant day of outdoor learning at Atholl Estates’ biannual Schools Day.

270 pupils attended this interactive and highly engaging day at the home of Blair Castle, for lots of fun filled learning activities. For some of the smaller schools and nurseries across the area, this meant a whole school came along to spend the day in Blair Atholl.

Age appropriate for children ranging from 3 to 12 years, the Schools Open Day aimed to demonstrate the varied range of tasks and activities carried out on the estate by the various departments that work there on a daily basis. Led by the Rangers Department, activities lined up this year included the game department demonstrating its use of Highland Garron ponies which traditionally bring Deer down from the hillside, together with a Gundog Display.  The Farming team laid on its very popular tractor tours, whilst also of huge interest to the children was the ‘build a house’ activity, delivered by the Estate’s Works team.

Other aspects of the day included the Estate Rangers matching tracks and signs to the animals, whilst the caravan park staff demonstrated how to pitch a tent and then got the children to compete in teams for the fastest tent set up. Not to be outdone, staff at Blair Castle itself provided a fun dressing up box and children learnt how to dust and clean precious artifacts using special tools.

Commenting on this year’s Schools Day, Head Ranger, Julia Duncan, said “Schools Day is one of the best and most enjoyable days we host on the estate, a real team effort, always resulting in lots of tired, but happy, children at the end of the day.”

“The emphasis on the day is very much to make sure the children have fun, together with ensuring that they are able to understand the varied work we do here on the estate.”

Commenting from Blair Atholl Primary School, Headteacher, Dawn Hunter, said: “ The children love seeing what is happening on the Estate which is a huge part of their community. We are grateful that we get to take part in such a fun day that helps children to discover new skills and passions.”

Following the event Breadalbane Academy said, “A huge thank you to all of the team at Atholl Estates for organising such a fantastic event for the primary school children in the local area. We had a wonderful day yesterday and the activities that were put on were pitched perfectly. The workers running the activities were super with the children and patiently answered their questions and taught them about estate life. We really appreciate all of the hard work you put into organising and running this event and would like to express our gratitude to all involved.“