Education & Schools

The Hawick Reivers Festival has become an annual event in the calendar of the Primary Schools in the Teviot and Liddesdale Learning Community. Each year, children of all ages are given the opportunity to be part of the event.

Throughout the schools in the preceding weeks, pupils learn about the history of the Reiving past in the town, learning songs, writing drama and listening to stories.

Dressed as Reivers, many take part in the parade along the High Street of the town, fiercely shouting to passers bye as they walk with their home made spears and swords.

The market place offers our children the chance to practice their techniques in selling their wares alongside other stall holders. Many schools use this as the culmination of class work on enterprise, on marketing or on business learning.

In recent years, the Learning Community has played host to ‘The Big Drum Adventure’, in association with the Youth Music Initiative and Scottish Borders Council Music Service. This takes the children on a musical journey ending in a performance at the Reivers Festival, using a vast array of drums from bass drums to hand drums, agogo bells and shakers. Each year, different schools lead this performance.

The drama of Reivers history is brought to life by pupils in drama productions each year, which take place in St Mary’s Church. The setting brings the tales to life, tales of reiving, written by the pupils working with local historians and based tales of young reivers such as Wat of Harden who raids Elibank Castle and is then has a tricky dilemma to resolve. Costumes, scripts and backdrops all enhance the telling of the tales.

Sporting prowess is tested to the full in the Reivers Games, held following the Parade on the Saturday. Teams from the primary schools compete for the very handsome a Andy Norman trophy, in events such as the greasy pole, Rob the Reiver and horse shoe hoopla.