Latest News –  Martin Whitfield MSP

Law Primary School's P7 pupils have had the opportunity to quiz Martin Whitfield MSP as part of their work studying democracy and the Scottish Parliament. Mr Whitfield visited the school to speak to around 100 pupils about his role at Holyrood representing the South Scotland Region, which includes the East Lothian constituency, and how the Scottish Parliament works. Following his initial introduction to his work and role, Mr Whitfield answered some of the pupils’ questions about how Scotland’s democracy operates and what life is like as a Member of the Scottish Parliament. Commenting on his visit, Martin Whitfield MSP said:  [...]

Preston Lodge RFC’s 51-12 victory over Orkney, which ensured they will be National League Division Three champions and promoted to National League Division Two, has been celebrated in a Scottish Parliament motion tabled by Martin Whitfield MSP. Mr Whitfield’s motion highlights Preston Lodge’s success in defeating their nearest challengers and congratulates the players, coaches, committee and everyone else involved with running and supporting the team on this outstanding success. Martin Whitfield MSP said: “Preston Lodge RFC enjoys very strong and enthusiastic support from the local community in Prestonpans. "The team’s success in being crowned Division Three champions and securing promotion [...]

This year's Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place from 5 - 11 February. The week is run by children’s mental health charity Place2Be and was launched to equip, empower and give a voice to children across the UK. This year’s theme is ‘My Voice Matters’. Empowering children and young people can have a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. For example, children and young people who feel that their voices are heard - and that what they say makes a difference - have higher levels of self-efficacy and self-esteem. They also have a greater sense of community – [...]

Martin Whitfield MSP is encouraging local schools to consider entering this year’s MARSBalloon project, which is designed to give young people practical experience of designing and testing ideas to go into space that could one day be destined for Mars. Thales Alenia Space’s MARSBalloon team will launch a balloon to an altitude of 30km, more than twice the height of commercial airliners, where they will be above 99% of Earth’s atmosphere. Students can work together to create Mars experiments that fit inside a small egg-shaped capsule and send them to the MARSBalloon team in Thales Alenia Space in Bristol to [...]

Martin Whitfield MSP is backing VoiceBox, a Scotland-wide joke telling competition designed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) to raise awareness of the fun and importance of communication. One in four children in Scotland have a predicted speech, language or communication need. Undetected or unmet speech, language and communication problems can lead to challenges with their learning, wellbeing and future life chances. All primary schools across Scotland are invited to bring laughter into their classrooms this term by taking part in the competition. Pupils with the funniest jokes can be nominated by their school and will [...]

P7 pupils at East Linton Primary School have been joined by South Scotland MSP Martin Whitfield at one of their lessons as part of their work learning about the Scottish Parliament and democracy. The East Lothian-based MSP joined the class to talk about his role as a parliamentarian and the way the Scottish Parliament operates, before hosting a Question & Answer session with the pupils. Following the MSP’s visit, the East Linton pupils will continue their project with a visit to the Scottish Parliament in February, allowing them to find out more about the parliament functions, the day-to-day work of [...]