Education Archives - Humanist Society Scotland

An image of an old fashioned, 19th century stone school house across a road with a sign in the foreground pointing to North Berwick.

Humanist Society has its say on fair school votes for East Lothian

November 14, 2023

Humanist Society has responded to a local council consultation, arguing that religious reps’ voting rights on the local education committee should be removed. Our CEO Fraser Sutherland also spoke to The National about the need for elected officials to be…

Dave Brackenridge, wearing a black jumper with a microphone in his hand and lectern infront of him, evangelises to an audience live on YouTube.

Humanist Society comments on links between evangelical pastor and charity working in primary schools

November 13, 2023

An article in The National reveals that Dave Brackenridge is the CEO of Rookie Rockstars, a charity operating in several Scottish primary schools. He was recently recorded making comments about the First Minister, Rishi Sunak (whom he mistakenly calls a…

Jennifer Buchan delivers our opening thoughts at the conference. She has blonde hair and a red shawl and stands at a podium.

Humanist Society Conference 2023: chair’s opening speech

November 1, 2023

On Friday 27 October 2023 at Surgeons’ Hall, Edinburgh, our chair Jennifer Buchan delivered the opening remarks for our annual conference, on the future of abortion rights in Scotland. We are delighted to publish Jennifer’s speech here. In it, she…

A view of Edinburgh City Chambers, a set of neoclassical stone buildings forming a courtyard with archways in front.

Edinburgh Council removes voting rights from religious reps on education committee

August 31, 2023

Humanist Society Scotland is delighted that Edinburgh Council has voted to remove voting rights from unelected religious representatives on its education committee. Since the start of May, five councils (Edinburgh, Stirling,* Fife, Highlands, and Orkney) have voted to remove these undemocratic…

James Calder smiles at the camera. He has short strawberry blond hair and wears a matt pink shirt with no tie and a grey suit jacket. He is standing in front of a hedge.

Humanist Society interview series: James Calder, Fife councillor for fair school votes

August 22, 2023

One of our most important campaigns is about removing undemocratic voting rights from religious representatives on local education committees. Due to a historic piece of legislation all local councils have to include three religious representatives on their local education committees….

A black and white photograph of a wedding ceremony, taken from the back of the ceremony hall/room looking down between two aisles of guests to the couple and celebrant. To the left, Kendal wears a black dress with white pattern and smiles at the couple. To the right is a bride wearing a white dress and groom in suit with kilt. They both smile and laugh.

Humanist Society interview series: Kendal Delaney

July 24, 2023

Our Humanist Society interview series is about meeting inspiring people. This includes members of our community bringing humanist values into their daily lives. We can’t think of a better example of this than Humanist Society-trained celebrant Kendal Delaney. Kendal is…

A group of young people laugh and chat over their laptop screens. They are around 15-16 and dressed in casual clothes.

We launch our new education guides for non-religious young people, parents, and carers

July 17, 2023

We are delighted to launch our updated education guides for non-religious young people, parents, and carers. The guides, which you can access via our education resources page or using the buttons below, provide comprehensive information on when and how religion…

A view of Stirling Castle on a sunny day, sat on its wooded hillside with a green expanse of grass in the foreground. The sky is blue and wisped with cloud.

Stirling Council will remove education votes from religious reps after next election

We are delighted that Stirling Council has voted to remove voting rights from religious representatives on its education committee. The change will take effect after the next local council elections in 2027. Conservative and Unionist councillor Bryan Flannagan proposed the…

Alt text: an image of the famous concrete hippos, a public artwork on a patch of grass in Glenrothes, location of Fife Council.

Fife Council removes voting rights from unelected religious advocates on education committee

June 22, 2023

We are delighted that Fife Council has voted by 36 to 32 to remove voting rights from unelected religious representatives on its education committee. This follows on from the identical votes passed in the Highlands and Orkney last month and…

Fraser Sutherland address a crowd (not visible) from a podium wearing a blue suit and green tweed tie against a purple wall. He has short brown hair and his hands opened as if to clarify a point.

Our CEO interviewed in The National on religious rep education votes

May 29, 2023

Our CEO Fraser Sutherland spoke to The National‘s Steph Brawn in an interview published on Sunday 28 May. He outlined our opposition to the “historical hangover” of religious representatives having voting rights on local education committees. Fraser and Steph also…

An image of Gemma leaning against a concrete waymarker, probably on a mountain walk, on a foggy day. She smiles at the camera, has died auburn hair and a maroon jacket.

Humanist Society interview series: Gemma Clark, abortion rights campaigner

May 22, 2023

At Humanist Society Scotland, we love talking to inspiring campaigners. We got to know abortion-rights activist and primary schoolteacher Gemma Clark through her awareness-raising work on the need for buffer zones around abortion services. Scotland is the last part of…