Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Pangnirtung ( May 29/00) - Eastern Arctic and Scottish students recently shared the stage in Scotland.

Students from Attagoyuk high school in Pangnirtung performed at a concert held May 1 at the Peterhead Academy, in Peterhead, Scotland.

"They did Inuksuk dancing, they did Inuit games, and the girls also sang some songs in Inuktitut," said Donald Mearns, vice-principal, who accompanied the 12 students on their trip.

Mearns said the hosts "gave us a display of Scottish country music. There were Scottish country dancers from Peterhead Academy, as well. They showed country and highland dancing. And also, there were some local line dancers," Mearns said.

"It was quite a big show. It ran for about four hours."

The focus of the trip was to allow students to visit the academy, and Mearns said Peterhead was the home area for many of the whalers who came to Cumberland Sound.

The Northern students also visited Arbuthnod Museum, where they saw some things that reminded of them of home.

"That was very interesting because some of the artifacts we have in Pangnirtung here, they were very much the same as we were seeing there," Mearns said.

Another stop was the Aden Country Heritage Centre, where some students took advantage of a recording studio.

"The girls went there and their songs were recorded, and those songs are going to be placed on a Web page -- the Aden Country Heritage Centre Web page," Mearns said. "The girls sang their hearts out, so that was a lot of fun."

On May 6, the group visited Edinburgh Castle, went shopping downtown and later that evening, took in a ghost tour of the town.

"Edinburgh actually has an underground city as well, and we went underneath into part of the underground city, and that had the girls fairly jumping about," Mearns said.

"They were all very nervous about ghouls and ghosts and things like that. That for me, actually, was one of the most fun parts."

The Attagoyuk group returned home May 10.

Mearns said the school organizes this type of trip every two years for students in grades 11 and 12. They would love to do it annually, but it is too expensive, he said.

The students who took part were David Keyuakjuk, Norman Kilabuk, Peter Alikatuqtuq, Noah Mosesee, Tommy Akulukjuk, Daniel Kilabuk, Rat Netser, Lina Ishulutaq, Mika Etuangat, Tina Akpalialuk, Becky Mearns and Emily Keenainak.

Mearns wanted to say thank you to all those who contributed funds for the trip.