Village Gala Day Drama

[Bronniel]

I live in a small Scottish Village, every year there is a Gala Day, I imagine it is similar to a Village Fete in England, but basically It is a lot of local businesses, food vans, live music and some little rides for the kids in the local park, with a parade around the village and a fancy dress competition, it is fairly popular. Also a lot of other events in the village on the weekend surrounding it and competitions for the kids.
Every year there is a Gala Queen, plus some other big roles like crown bearer, maids etc. Basically the Queen gets crowned to kick the day off and prior to that leads the parade in a horse and carriage. It's all very much set in tradition but still popular and the kids enjoy it.
Traditionally the Gala Queen and the rest of the Gala party has been selected by the primary school in the village, and consists of P7s, the head teacher picks them and they are chosen based on behaviour/attainment etc. throughout the year. My own kids viewed it as quite a bit accolade to be chosen and it seems like a big deal to the kids. This method though has had its controversies as obviously not every child in the Village attends the village school with some going to other schools for various reasons and others going to say the catholic school or occasionally the odd who does the 30+ minute commute to a private school, it also excludes any kids who attend the schools for additional needs as these aren't in the village. However it has always been the primary schools pick.
I am on the Gala Committee and this year there is a push to change the allocation method, basically to some sort of system where any Primary 7 aged child who lives in the village or surrounding farms/one hamlet where all the kids also go to the local school, would be able to enter. The top ideas right now are some sort of essay writing competition or a competition where kids submit "evidence of excellence" be it a video of a dance they have learnt, art they have done, sports awards etc. The essay seems to be the popular choice but some fear that it will mean just the smartest kids get the chance to be part of it. It's said that either the committee would pick or we could get some locals to pick (so a panel of maybe the head teacher, the minister at the local church etc). The idea for the essay writing competition is they would write an essay on the history of the village or something similar.

However the issue is, this same year one of the most vocal members of the Gala Committee has a grandchild who is in Primary 7, but at a private school, so wouldn't be eligible under the historical system as despite living in the village, doesn't attend the local school. About half of the committee are against any changes as it is set in tradition and they feel the change is purely to benefit this members grandchild and future grandchildren. They also feel that it is unfair to ask the children of the local state school, many from lower income backgrounds to compete against private school kids on either the essay front or the hobby front. Others feel it is a necessary change as the days of all the kids going to the local school are over, and lots of the kids at the local school aren't from the village now.

It is creating quite the divide and a lot of upset so I'm looking to see what others think as we seem to be in a deadlock.

So
YABU - The traditional method should stay
YANBU - Time to update so all the kids in the village can be involved

(I know this seems trivial but it is the source of many a head ache for me right now and it is the height of village drama for our sleepy little place).

Yeah, I think changes risk oddly entrenching inequality rather than leaving it. Change the branding: "xyz primary school village Gala Queen" sort of thing to restrict it just to the village primary in keeping with tradition. Is there an additional ceremonial role that could be won as part of a contest? Judging best cake or fancy dress etc?

This was my first thought as well.

Couldn’t it be based on ‘achievement’ rather than excellence? And you just request evidence of some sort - so a certificate, video, artwork? This might allow for achievements to vary based on the needs of the child. And it also allows for non academic achievements.

Clearly that lady isn’t going to stop until her own grandchild is picked 🙄.

I agree teachers etc should be able to nominate a child who really deserves it.

Unpopular view perhaps but I believe if you opt to send your child to school outside the village primary you do lose some of the benefits that come with being part of the community. I don’t think you should get to pick and choose.

Agreed. Honestly it all sounds very over the top. Names out of a hat is the only fair way to do it.

I'm not voting because the whole concept of crowning one girl as "queen" is just plain nasty. Any reform should be based on a totally equitable system where all children are involved and no single one of them of either sex is picked out as special. Any system to select and crown a favourite is going to be riddled with inherent bias, favourism, nepotism, sexism and ablism. You can't polish a turd. Either stick to the existing flawed tradition on the grounds that it's traditional or invent something new that doesn't need a favoured special child to be chosen.

I haven’t read the whole thread but what if you had to nominate a child and say why they have achieved this year or what special things they have done? Could be simply that they have changed their behaviour or improved at school or could be that they have helped grandparents or raised money for charity. Whatever it is needs to be written down by parent/carer or teacher. Then the best ones can be chosen and entered in to a draw? That was it covers all bases.

Maybe allow the kids to submit an entry on a theme (e.g. "my village") that could be anything they like - essay, picture, sculpture etc. The entries can be displayed somewhere so even the kids who don't win get a bit of pride in whatever they submitted

@Bronniel I'm an older woman living in a Scottish village. I think your committee should ask a local children and families social worker/children's panel member for some much-needed advice. The methods currently used in your village are exclusionary, elitist and divisive. Instead, your committee could make choices that could have hugely valuable effects on the lives of children who are currently considered unworthy by your committee.

I think the poster idea is best.

Or how about decorating a triangle of bunting, than can then be used as decoration at the event? Kids can pick up their fabric triangles at school, church, local library etc. There could be a theme like Gala Day/ what you love about the village/ welcoming visitors etc. Or everyone could get a letter/number each to spell out '[village name] Gala Day 2025'.

Keep it the same or if want to open it up get the kids to submit a video talking about the village? And why they should be chosen.

Sounds like your way over complicating things and the ideas are not really fair! In my local area the local schools who are eligible to be in the court will be sent a letter to give to parents, they will distribute this with an email on it for parents to put their child's name into the ballot and then nanes are selected at random. There is no fairer way of doing it if you want it to be fair to all children and that's what it should be about, not who has most money or status in the village. Every other village I know uses this method also!!

This is why I live in London.

Any system where a specific child is chosen is going to be biased. Children who would like to be chosen could still write an essay or draw a picture or walk a mile or other more imaginative ideas as an entry "fee". Entries are not judged. Child's name picked out of hat.

Also, we have galas in England.

Apparently names were drawn out of a hat in the village my kids went to primary school at. As we didn't live in the village we weren't eligible.

It was funny how often there was a correlation with the children that got the star parts in the plays, the head boy/girl role and there were plenty of accusations of it being rigged. 🤔

Anyway the point is that no matter what you do or try to make it fair there will always be someone accusing it of not being fair.

Personally I would favour names in a hat as the least likely system to have accusations of corruption.

It should be based on excellence. Excellence should be acknowledged and rewarded as it often takes hard work to be excellent and natural inborn skill is often beautiful. Society needs excellence. I think it should be “submissions for excellence “. So the children submit their entry. For some it could be an essay, for others it could be a speech, a picture, a dance, skills in football, an idea for the village, whatever. The only condition should be that it is submitted in an accessible and shareable format. That could be a video on a phone or an email etc. Over time this will give you a lovely record of the children from the village which could one day be in display.

Coming from a small scottish town your galaday is set up in the most backwards of ways. Our towns rules are if the kids live in the town they get to take part. We have 4 primary schools and they all get picked from the p7 classes for the court then p5 and p3 for fairies. I have no idea how you have been allowed to get away with this for so long.

This. Sums up my view. Thankfully they got rid of this shite where I live.

I'd do names out of a hat from the local school.
If bit that then a poster drawing competition.

I think it's horrible to want to exclude the naughty kids. They are still young kids, how naughty can they by.

You Gala committee don't sound very nice.

If it needs to be a reward it should be based on community spirit then.

You're right they don't sound very nice,I'd like to add full of their own self importance.

You have to decide (or the people in charge have to decide) whether its a school gala day or a village gala day

If its a village gala then by definition it includes those who live in the village but may not attend the local school.

If its a school gala then you dont need any pretense of inclusivity from other schools because its only about children who attend that school

I am an "older woman in a village" 😀and I would favour names in a hat .... and I know all my friends would be of the same mind.

Apologies if this has already been suggested, but how about keeping with a short essay/ story but rather than being about the history of the village, make it about a time the child displayed a particular value or quality. Then judge the underlying content and not the quality of the writing.

I think the names in hats idea is best. But if not good enough, ask them why ? I also love a previous posters suggestion of every child gets a bunting flag to decorate.