Dyslexia Changemaker Award

Primary 7 pupil, Matthew, was recently honoured at our Thinking Differently assembly for his commitments to Dyslexia Scotland.

Matthew’s commitment to changing people’s views on dyslexia saw him receive a Dyslexia Changemaker Ambassador Award.

Each year, our Primary 7 pupils hold a charity event for Children in Need and choose a local children’s charity to directly donate to. This year, Matthew suggested Dyslexia Scotland. His class created a video presentation for assembly and as a year group, the Primary 7’s learned more about dyslexia to help raise almost £1,500 for the charity, and awareness across the whole school.

Dyslexia Scotland’s mission is “to inspire and enable people reach their potential in life, learning and work”, and Matthew has certainly done that. Not only has he spoken at school assemblies, help raise awareness and funds for Dyslexia Scotland, but he has written an article for our school magazine, and helped empower younger children who think differently know that it is not a bad thing. As Matthew said;

“he didn’t have a disability – he had a superpower”.

Matthew also featured on the BBC’s “Saturday Mash-Up!” and will also appear in Dyslexia Scotland’s magazine this summer.

At our Thinking Differently assembly Matthew told pupils that, at times, he struggled with his learning, but by understanding dyslexia, this helped him grow and evolve his way of learning. His writing improved with the use of dictate technology, and he is now happy to wear his tinted glasses, which has given him more confidence at school in general. Matthew spoke about how he enjoys Drama out of school and despite finding reading hard, he told pupils how he manages to learn his lines.

Primary 7 Teacher, Miss Struthers, said;

“Matthew was excellent, and his honesty allowed all children to be more open and understanding about pupils’ learning needs. Matthew has been an outstanding advocate for Dyslexia Scotland, and it is great to see him recognised for his efforts.”

Matthew has also made Hutchie history by becoming our first ever Dyslexia Changemaker Ambassador, which is why the school was delighted to also present Matthew with our Bound for Brilliance Award.

He certainly is, and we look forward to seeing what he does next.

To view Matthew’s video, visit Dyslexia Changemaker, and more information about dyslexia can be found at Dyslexia Scotland.