Olympics 2012: all Scottish schools to get copy of Chariots of Fire

Friday 27 July 2012

First Minister Alex Salmond has announced a plan for every schoolchild to learn about the achievements of "perhaps the most celebrated Scottish Olympian of all time".

Nigel Havers in Chariots of Fire

A new edition of the film Chariot's Of Fire, which tells the story of runner Eric Liddell, will be made available to every school in the country.

Lord Puttnam, who produced the Oscar-winning movie, hailed the move as "fantastic".

The First Minister made the announcement as he officially opened Scotland House in London, which will seek to showcase Scottish culture, sport, business and tourism to the world during the Olympics. Similar to the Scotland House staged at the previous two Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and Dehli, the facility will host formal events and receptions as well as business meetings and providing a base for families of Scottish athletes competing at the Games. It will be "a base right in the heart of London to showcase the very best of Scottish culture, sport, business and tourism during an absolutely fantastic week of events", Mr Salmond said. "At the same time we will be able to remind the international sporting community that the next major sporting games will be held on Scotland's shores, as preparations continue for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games." He also stressed the "need to honour our heroes at home too", adding: "With that in mind, from next term we are making sure that every schoolchild in Scotland can learn more about the achievements of Eric Liddell. "We have a rich Olympic history, with the recent gold medal successes of athletes such as Sir Chris Hoy and Shirley Robertson, and the celebrated achievements of Allan Wells and David Wilkie still fresh in the memory. "Eric Liddell, though, remains perhaps the most celebrated Scottish Olympian of all time. He won gold in the 400m at the Paris Games of 1924, and his life is charted in the Academy Award-winning epic Chariots Of Fire. "It is appropriate in this Olympic year we take time to honour his achievements, and I am delighted to announce that the new edition of Chariots Of Fire will be made available to every school in Scotland to help our young people learn more about his life and the important lessons he taught us: those of humility and dedication and an absolute commitment to the service of others." Liddell, a committed Christian, won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics despite refusing to take part in his best event, the 100m, because the race was on a Sunday. Instead, he raced in and won the 400m. After the Olympics he went to China to work as a Christian missionary but was sent to an internment camp in the 1940s after the Japanese invaded the country. Under a prisoner-exchange deal, he could have left the camp but gave this up so a pregnant woman could go in his place. Liddell died in February 1945. Speaking about his film being made available to schools, Lord Puttnam said: "I think it is fantastic, it's highly appropriate and the timing is brilliant. The remastered version is beautiful, so I am absolutely delighted. "The key is the discussion that takes place afterwards about this extraordinary man, not just the fact that he wouldn't run in the Olympics but also the rest of his life. This is a man who was offered out of the internment camp but gave his place up for a pregnant woman. This is a great person." However, Patricia Ferguson, Scottish Labour's Shadow Cabinet Sectretary for Culture and the Commonwealth Games, said: "After the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Jack McConnell set up the Commonwealth Endowment Fund to ensure that Scottish athletes received the support they needed to compete at the highest levels. "The announcement today by Alex Salmond is a missed opportunity to build on this. I have asked that a similar endowment be created, which reflect the priorities that defined Eric Liddell's life; namely athletics, education and humanitarian work. "With London 2012 starting today, this summer of sport could have been used as a start to ensuring that generations of young Scots could follow in the legendary footsteps of one of our most famous sons. Instead Alex Salmond is sending out a DVD to every school. Whilst I am sure it will inspire some, I just don't think that it goes far enough."

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Olympics 2012: all Scottish schools to get copy of Chariots of Fire

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