Scotland
Scotland () is a
nation in
northwest Europe and a
constituent country[The website of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom refers to "Countries within a country", stating "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland".] of the
United Kingdom. It occupies the northern third of the island of
Great Britain, shares a land border to the south with
England and is bounded by the
North Sea to the east, the
Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the
North Channel and
Irish Sea to the southwest. Apart from the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790
islands.
Edinburgh, the
capital and second largest
city, is one of Europe's largest
financial centres
[Edinburgh, Inspiring Capital - Information for Journalists - "Edinburgh is Europe's sixth largest fund management centre".]. The largest city is
Glasgow, the centre of the
Greater Glasgow conurbation which is home to approximately 40% of
Scotland's population.
Scottish waters consist of a large sector
[Image showing 1999 Scottish Fishing and Territorial Waters www.opsi.gov.uk] of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest
oil reserves in the
European Union.
The
Kingdom of Scotland was an
independent state until
1 May,
1707, when the
Acts of Union resulted in a
political union with the
Kingdom of England to create the
Kingdom of Great Britain. Scotland continues to have a separate
legal and judicial system from
England and Wales and
Northern Ireland, and because of this it constitutes a discrete
jurisdiction in
public and in
private international law.
[pdf file "For the purposes of the English conflict of laws, every country in the world which is not part of England and Wales is a foreign country and its foreign laws. This means that not only totally foreign independent countries such as France or Russia... are foreign countries but also British Colonies such as the Falkland Islands. Moreover, the other parts of the United Kingdom - Scotland and Northern Ireland - are foreign countries for present purposes, as are the other British Islands, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey." Conflict of Laws, JG Collier, Fellow of Trinity Hall and lecturer in Law, University of Cambridge] Scots law, the
Scottish education system and the
Church of Scotland have been three cornerstones contributing to the continuation of
Scottish culture and
Scottish national identity since the Union. Scotland is not, however, a
sovereign state and does not enjoy direct membership of either the
United Nations or the European Union.
The word
Scot was borrowed from
Latin and its use, to refer to Scotland, dates from at least the first half of the
10th century, when it first appeared in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a reference to the
Land of the Gaels, analogous to the Latin
Scotia.
Scottish kings adopted the title
Basileus Scottorum or
Rex Scottorum (meaning
High King of the Gaels), and
Rex Scotiae (
King of Gael-land) some time in the
11th century, likely influenced by the style
Imperator Scottorum known to have been employed by
Brian Boru in
Ireland in
1005.
In modern times the word
Scot is applied equally to all inhabitants regardless of their ancestral
ethnicity, since the
nation has had a
civic, rather than a monoculturally
ethnic or linguistic, orientation for most of the last millennium.'''
Early Scotland
It is unknown whether Scotland was inhabited in palaeolithic times, as southern Britain was, but repeated
glaciations, which covered the entire land-mass of modern Scotland, have destroyed any evidence of human habitation before the
mesolithic period. It is believed that the first group(s) of
hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 11,000 years ago, as the
ice sheet retreated after the
last ice age. Groups of settlers began building the first permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. A site from this period is the well-preserved village of
Skara Brae on the Mainland of
Orkney.
Neolithic habitation, burial and ritual sites are particularly common and well-preserved in the Northern and Western Isles, where a lack of trees led to most structures being constructed of local stone.
The written
history of Scotland largely began with the arrival of the
Roman Empire in southern and central Great Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now
England and
Wales, administering it as a
Roman province called
Britannia. Part of southern Scotland was briefly indirectly controlled by Rome. To the north was
Caledonia, territory not conquered by the Romans. The name represents that of a
Pictish tribe, the
Caledonii, one amongst several in the region, but perhaps the dominant tribe. Pictland became dominated by the Pictish sub-kingdom of
Fortriu. The
Gaels of
Dál Riata peopled
Argyll. From this people came
Cináed mac AilpÃn, who united the
Kingdom of Scotland in 843, when he became the
King of the Picts and Scots. According to legend, the
Scottish Saltire was adopted by King
Ã"engus II of Fortriu in 832 after a victory over the
Northumbrians at
Athelstaneford.
Medieval Scotland
In the following centuries, the Kingdom of Scotland expanded to something closer to modern Scotland. The period was marked by comparatively good relations with the
Wessex rulers of England, intense internal dynastic disunity and, despite this, relatively successful expansionary policies. Sometime after an invasion of the
Kingdom of Strathclyde by
King Edmund of England in 945, the province was handed over to
King Malcolm I. During the reign of
King Indulf (954-962), the Scots captured the fortress later called
Edinburgh, their first foothold in
Lothian. The reign of
Malcolm II saw fuller incorporation of these territories. The critical year was perhaps 1018, when Malcolm II defeated the
Northumbrians at the
Battle of Carham.
The
Norman Conquest of England in 1066 initiated a chain of events which started to move the
Kingdom of Scotland away from its originally Gaelic cultural orientation.
Malcolm III married
Margaret the sister of
Edgar Ætheling the deposed
Anglo-Saxon claimant to the
throne of England, who subsequently received some Scottish support. Margaret played a major role in reducing the influence of
Celtic Christianity. When her youngest son
David I later succeeded, Scotland gained something of its own gradual "Norman Conquest". Having previously become an important
Anglo-Norman lord through marriage, David I was instrumental in introducing
feudalism into Scotland and in encouraging an influx of settlers from the
Low Countries to the newly-founded
burghs, to enhance trading links with
mainland Europe and
Scandinavia. By the late 13th century, scores of Norman and Anglo-Norman families had been granted Scottish lands. The first meetings of the
Parliament of Scotland were convened during this period.
After the death of the
Maid of Norway, last direct heir of
Alexander III of Scotland,
Scotland's nobility asked
Edward I,
King of England, to adjudicate between rival claimants to the vacant
Scottish throne.
John Balliol was chosen as king, having the strongest claim in feudal law, but Edward used the concessions he gained to undermine and then depose King John. The Scots resisted under the
leadership of Sir
William Wallace and
Andrew de Moray in support of
John Balliol, and later under that of
Robert the Bruce. Bruce, crowned as King Robert I on
March 25,
1306, won a decisive victory over the English at the
Battle of Bannockburn on
June 23 -
June 24,
1314, but warfare flared up again after his death during the
Second War of Scottish Independence from 1332 to 1357 in which
Edward Balliol unsuccessfully attempted to win back the throne from Bruce's heirs, with the support of the English king. Eventually, with the emergence of the
Stewart dynasty in the 1370s, the situation in Scotland began to stabilise.
By the end of the
Middle Ages, Scotland was showing a split into two cultural areas — the mainly
Scots-speaking
Lowlands, and the mainly
Gaelic-speaking
Highlands. However,
Galwegian Gaelic persisted in remote parts of the southwest, which had formed part of the
Lordship of Galloway, probably up until the late 18th century. Historically, the Lowlands were closer to mainstream
European culture. By comparison, the
clan system of the Highlands formed one of the region's more distinctive features, with a number of powerful clans remaining dominant until after the
Acts of Union 1707.
Modern Scotland
In 1603,
James VI King of Scots inherited the throne of the
Kingdom of England, and became also
King James I of England. With the exception of a short period under
The Protectorate, Scotland remained a separate
state, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the
Covenanters over the form of
church government. After the
Glorious Revolution and the overthrow of the
Roman Catholic James VII by
William and Mary, Scotland briefly threatened to select a different
Protestant monarch from England. In 1707, however, following English threats to end
trade and free movement across the border, the
Scots Parliament and the
Parliament of England enacted the twin
Acts of Union, which created the
Kingdom of Great Britain.
Two major
Jacobite risings launched from the west of Scotland in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove the
House of Hanover from the
British throne. The deposed
Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly amongst non-
Presbyterians.
Following the
Scottish Enlightenment and the
Industrial Revolution, Scotland became one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of
Europe. Its industrial decline following
World War II was particularly acute, but in recent decades the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part by a resurgent
financial services and
electronics sector (see
Silicon Glen), the proceeds of
North Sea oil and
gas, and latterly the
devolved Scottish Parliament, established by the
UK government under the
Scotland Act 1998.
As one of the
constituent countries of the United Kingdom, the
head of state in Scotland is the
British monarch, currently
Queen Elizabeth II (since
1952). Constitutionally the United Kingdom is a
unitary state with one sovereign parliament and government. Under a system of
devolution (or
home rule) adopted after Scottish and Welsh referendums on devolution proposals in 1997, constitutent countries within the United Kingdom were given limited
self-government. The British Parliament in Westminster retains the ability to, at will, amend, change, broaden or abolish the devolved governmental systems. As such the Scottish Parliament is not
sovereign. However, it is thought unlikely that any British parliament would unilaterally abolish a home rule parliament and government without consultation via a referendum with the voters of the constituent country.
Executive power in the United Kingdom is vested in the
Queen-in-Council, while legislative power is vested in the
Queen-in-Parliament (the Crown and the
Parliament of the United Kingdom at
Westminster in
London). Under devolution executive and legislative powers in certain areas have been constitutionally delegated to the
Scottish Executive and the
Scottish Parliament at
Holyrood in
Edinburgh respectively. The United Kingdom Parliament retains active power over Scotland's
taxes,
social security system, the
military,
international relations,
broadcasting, and some other areas explicitly specified in the
Scotland Act 1998 as
reserved matters. The Scottish Parliament has
legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland, and has limited power to vary
income tax. The Scottish Parliament can refer devolved matters back to Westminster to be considered as part of United Kingdom-wide legislation under the
Sewel motion system if United Kingdom-wide legislation is considered to be more appropriate for certain issues. The programmes of legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament have seen a divergence in the provision of
public services compared to the rest of the United Kingdom. For instance, the costs of a
university education, and care services for the elderly are free at point of use in Scotland, while fees are paid in the rest of the UK. Scotland is the first country in the UK to ban smoking in public places.
[Scotland begins pub smoking ban BBC Online, 26 March 2006]The Scottish Parliament is a
unicameral legislature comprised of 129
Members, 73 of whom represent individual
constituencies and are elected on a
first past the post system; 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the
additional member system. The Queen appoints one of the members of the Parliament, on the nomination of the Parliament, to be
First Minister. Other Ministers are also appointed by the Queen on the nomination of the Parliament and together with the First Minister they make up
Scottish Executive, the
executive arm of
government. The current (since
2001) First Minister is
Jack McConnell of the
Labour Party, who forms the government on a
coalition basis with the
Liberal Democrats. The main
opposition party is the
Scottish National Party, which campaign for
Scottish independence. Other parties include the
Conservative and Unionist Party, the
Scottish Green Party and the
Scottish Socialist Party.
Scotland is represented in the
British House of Commons by 59
MPs elected from territory-based
Scottish constituencies. The
Scotland Office, a department of the United Kingdom government led by
The Secretary of State for Scotland, is responsible for reserved matters. The Secretary of State for Scotland sits in the
Cabinet of the United Kingdom and prior to devolution headed the system of government in Scotland. The current Secretary of State for Scotland is
Douglas Alexander. Until 1999,
Scottish peers were entitled to sit in the
House of Lords.
The main political debate in Scotland revolves around the constitution and this dominated the Scottish political scene in the latter half of the 20th century. Under the pressure of growing support for Scottish independence all three UK-wide parties advocated a policy of
devolution to some degree during their history (although Labour and the Conservatives have also at times opposed it). Now that devolution has occurred, debate continues over whether the Scottish Parliament should accrue additional powers (for example over
fiscal policy), or seek to obtain full
independence with full sovereign powers (either through independence, a federal United Kingdom or a confederal arrangement). It remains to be seen whether the current devolution system satisfies Scottish demands for self-government or strengthen demands for full-blown independence.
Scots law is the
law of Scotland. It is a unique system with ancient roots and has a basis in
Roman law, combining features of both uncodified
civil law dating back to the
Corpus Juris Civilis and
common law with
medieval sources. The terms of the
Treaty of Union with
England in 1707, guaranteed the continued existence of a separate legal system in Scotland from that of
England and Wales. Formerly, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, one of which was the use of
Udal Law in
Orkney and
Shetland, based on
Old Norse Law, which for the most part was abolished in
1611. Various systems based on common
Celtic or
Brehon Laws also survived in the Highlands until the
1800s.
Scots law provides for three types of
courts:
civil,
criminal and
heraldic courts responsible for the administration of
justice in Scotland. The supreme civil court is the
Court of Session, although civil appeals can be taken to the House of Lords in London, and the
High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court. Both courts are housed at
Parliament House, Edinburgh, the home of the pre-Union
Parliament of Scotland. The
sheriff court is the main criminal and civil court. There are 49 sheriff courts throughout the country.
[Scottish Court Information www.scotcourts.gov.uk ] District courts were introduced in
1975 for minor offences. The
Court of the Lord Lyon regulates heraldry in Scotland.
Scots law is also unique in that it allows three verdicts in criminal cases including the controversial '
not proven' verdict.
Historical subdivisions of Scotland include the
mormaerdom,
stewartry,
earldom,
burgh,
parish,
county and
regions and districts. The names of these areas are sometimes still used as geographical descriptors. Today, Scotland is subdivided for a varity of purposes. There are thirty five
lieutenancy areas of Scotland, for which the Queen appoints a
Lord Lieutenant to represent her. For
local government, 32
council areas were set up in 1996. These are administered by 32
unitary authorities responsible for the provision of all local government services, including
education, social work, environment and roads services. Some of the larger councils are further divided into
area committees.
Community councils are informal organisations that represent specific areas within a council area. For administering
justice, there are six
sheriffdoms. For the Scottish Parliament, there are 8 regions which are then sub-divided into 73
constituencies. For the Parliament of the United Kingdom there are 59
constituencies. The Scottish fire brigades and police forces and are still broadly based on the system of regions introduced in 1975. For healthcare and postal districts, amongst others, Scotland is subdivided in various other ways. Non-governmental organisations, notably the churches, have other long-standing methods of subdividing Scotland for the purposes of administration.
City status in the United Kingdom is determined by
letters patent. There are six cities in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, and Stirling.
Royal burgh status is awarded by
royal charter, and is held by 66 places. Dundee is the only city to retain royal burgh status; Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling have all had the honour withdrawn.
Scotland comprises the northern third of the island of
Great Britain, off the coast of north west
Europe. The total land mass is around 78,772
square kilometres (30,414
mi²). Scotland's only land border is with
England, and runs for 96
kilometres (60
miles) between the
River Tweed on the east coast and the
Solway Firth in the west. The island of
Ireland lies around 30 kilometres (20 mi) off the south west tip of Scotland,
Norway is around 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north east, and the
Faroes and
Iceland lie to the north. Scotland lies between the
Atlantic Ocean and the
North Sea.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the
1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and
England and the
1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and
Norway. Exceptions include the
Isle of Man, which is now a
crown dependency outside the United Kingdom,
Orkney and
Shetland, which are Scottish rather than
Norwegian, and
Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the
1746 Wales and Berwick Act.
Rockall was annexed by the United Kingdom in
1972 and administratively made part of the
Isle of Harris in Scotland, although this is disputed by the
Republic of Ireland,
Iceland and
Denmark; both the UK (in 1997) and Ireland (in 1996) have since ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which excludes Rockall from qualifying as land from which various territorial limits can be measured although it is itself claimed to within territorial limits of both the UK and Ireland.
The country consists of a mainland area plus several island groups. The mainland can be divided into three areas: the
Highlands in the north; the
Central Belt and the
Southern Uplands in the south. The Highlands are generally mountainous and are bisected by the
Great Glen. The highest mountains in the
British Isles are found here, including
Ben Nevis, the highest peak at 1,344
metres (4,409
ft). All mountains over 3,000 feet (914 m) are known as
Munros. The Central Belt of Scotland is generally flat and is where most of the population reside. The Central Belt is often divided into the West Coast, which contains the areas around
Glasgow; and the East Coast which includes the areas around the
capital,
Edinburgh. The Southern Uplands are a range of hills and mountains almost 200 km (125 miles) long, stretching from
Stranraer by the
Irish Sea to
East Lothian and the
North Sea.
Scotland has over 790 islands, divided into four main groups:
Shetland,
Orkney, and the
Hebrides, divided into the
Inner Hebrides and
Outer Hebrides. The
Firth of Clyde and the
Firth of Forth also contain many islands.
St. Kilda is the most remote of all the inhabitable Scottish islands, being over 160 km (100 miles) from the mainland. Almost all the islands surrounding Scotland, no matter how small or remote, were formerly inhabited, as is shown by archaeological and documentary evidence. In general only the more accessible and larger islands retain human populations (though these are in some cases very small). Access to several islands in the Northern and Western groups was made easier in the course of the
20th century by the construction of bridges or causeways, e.g. the
Churchill Barriers, installed for strategic reasons during the
Second World War between several small islands on the east side of
Scapa Flow in
Orkney. Plans, some controversial, for more links between islands continue to be drawn up.
The
climate of Scotland is
temperate and
oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. It is warmed by the
Gulf Stream from the
Atlantic, and as such is much warmer than areas on similar latitudes, for example
Oslo,
Norway. However, temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the coldest ever UK temperature of -27.2°
C (-16.96°
F) recorded at
Braemar in the
Grampian Mountains, on
February 11,
1895 and
January 10,
1982 and also at
Altnaharra,
Highland, on
December 30,
1995. Winter maximums average 6°C (42.8°F) in the lowlands, with summer maximums averaging 18°C (64.4°F). The highest temperature recorded was 32.9°C (91.22°F) at
Greycrook,
Scottish Borders on
August 9 2003.
In general, the west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, due to the influence of the Atlantic
ocean currents, and the colder surface temperatures of the
North Sea.
Tiree, in the
Inner Hebrides, is the sunniest place in the country: it had 300 days of sunshine in 1975. Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest place, with annual rainfall exceeding 3,000
mm (120
inches). In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than 800 mm (31 inches) annually. Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude.
Braemar experiences an average of 59 snow days per year, while coastal areas have an average of less than 10 days.
The Scottish
economy is closely linked with that of the rest of Europe and the wider
Western world, with a heavy emphasis on
exporting. It is essentially a
market economy with some
government intervention. After the
Industrial Revolution, the Scottish economy concentrated on
heavy industry, dominated by the
shipbuilding,
coal mining and
steel industries. Scottish participation in the
British Empire also allowed the Scottish economy to export its output throughout the world. However heavy industry declined in the latter part of the 20th century leading to a remarkable shift in the economy of Scotland towards a
technology and
service sector-based economy. The 1980s saw an
economic boom in the
Silicon Glen corridor between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with many large technology firms relocating to Scotland. The discovery of
North Sea oil in the 1970s also transformed the Scottish economy.
Edinburgh is the financial services centre of Scotland and the sixth largest financial centre in Europe,
In 2002, the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Scotland was just over £74 billion ($130 billion), giving a per capita GDP of £14,651 ($25,546).
[Although Scotland has a long military tradition that predates the Act of Union with England, its armed forces now form part of those of the United Kingdom and are known as the British Armed Forces. In 2006, the remaining Scottish infantry regiments were amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.]
Due to their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed sensitive establishments. Between 1960 and 1991, the Holy Loch was a base for the U.S fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines. Today, HMNB Clyde, only 25 miles (40 km) west of Glasgow, is the base for the four Trident-armed Vanguard class SSBNs that comprise the the UK's nuclear deterrent. The Royal Navy's submarine nuclear reactor development establishment, is located near Dounreay, which is also the site of the UK's now-abandoned fast breeder nuclear reactor programme.The population of Scotland in the 2001 census was 5,062,011. This has risen to 5,094,800 according to July 2005 estimates.[Scotland's Population rises for the third year in a row. General Register Office for Scotland April 2006] This would make Scotland the 112th largest country by population if it were a sovereign state. Although Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland it is not the largest city; Scotland's largest city, with a population of 629,501, is Glasgow. Approximately 2.1 million people live in the Greater Glasgow urban conurbation, defined as the City of Glasgow council area, plus the metropolitan Area.Languages
|
Place names in their original Gaelic are becoming increasingly common on road signs throughout the Scottish Highlands. |
Since the United Kingdom lacks a codified constitution, there is no official language. However, Scotland has three officially recognised languages: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. De facto English is the main language, and almost all Scots speak Scottish Standard English.
Over the past century the number of native speakers of Gaelic, a Celtic language similar to Irish, has declined from around 5% to just 1% of the population, almost always on a fully bilingual basis with English.[A Century on the Census - Gaelic in Twentieth Century Focus - Dr. Kenneth MacKinnon www2.arts.gla.ac.uk] Gaelic is mostly spoken in the Western Isles, where the local council uses the Gaelic name - Comhairle nan Eilean Siar ("Council of the Western Isles"). The General Register Office for Scotland estimates that 30% of the population are fluent in Scots, a West Germanic sister language to English.
Scots and Gaelic were recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by the UK in 2001, and the Scottish Executive is committed, based on the UK's undertakings, to providing support for both[European Charter for regional or minority languages www.scotland.gov.uk] Under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 which was passed by the Scottish Parliament to provide a statutory basis for a limited range of Gaelic language service provision, English and Gaelic receive "equal respect" but do not have equal legal status.[MSPs rule against Gaelic equality BBC Online, 21 April, 2005 ] State support for Scots is slowly growing with the Scottish Executive providing some funding to various Scots language projects and bodies, including the Dictionary of the Scots Language.Religion
The Presbyterian Church of Scotland, also referred to as The Kirk, is the national church. It is not subject to state control nor is it "established" as is the Church of England within England. It was formally recognised as independent of the UK Parliament by the Church of Scotland Act 1921, settling centuries of dispute between church and state over jurisdiction in spiritual matters.
The Scottish Reformation, initiated in 1560 and led by John Knox, was Calvinist, and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Church of Scotland maintained this theology and kept a tight control over the morality of much of the population. The Church had a significant influence on the cultural development of Scotland in early modern times. Other Protestant denominations in Scotland include the Free Church of Scotland, an off-shoot from the Church of Scotland adhering to a more conservative style of Calvinism, the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms part of the Anglican Communion, the Methodists, the Congregationalists, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Roman Catholicism in Scotland survived the Reformation, especially on islands like Uist and Barra, despite the suppression of the 16th to late 18th centuries. Roman Catholicism was strengthened particularly in the west of Scotland during the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. This continued for much of the 20th century, during which significant numbers of Catholics from Italy and Poland also migrated to Scotland. Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems caused by sectarianism, particularly football rivalry between the traditionally Roman Catholic team, Celtic, and the traditionally Protestant team, Rangers.
Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland (estimated population, 50,000) despite accounting for less than 1% of the population.[General Register Office for Scotland 2001 Census analysis] There are also significant Jewish and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow. At 28% of the population, Scotland has a relatively high proportion of persons who regard themselves as belonging to 'no religion'. Indeed, this was the second most common response in the 2001 census
Today, children in Scotland sit Standard Grade exams at the age of 15 or 16, sometimes earlier, for up to eight subjects including compulsory exams in English, mathematics, a foreign language, a science subject and a social subject. Each school may vary these compulsory combinations. The school leaving age is 16, after which students may choose to remain at school and study for Access, Intermediate or Higher Grade and Advanced Higher exams. A small number of students at certain private, independent schools may follow the English system and study towards GCSEs instead of Standard Grades, and towards A and AS-Levels instead of Higher Grade and Advanced Higher exams.
The Scottish Executive funds over forty further and higher education colleges where students can study for more vocational qualifications; degree-entry qualifications such as diplomas; and specialist courses in the arts or agriculture. Scotland has 13 universities and one university college, including the four ancient universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews founded during the medieval period. Bachelor's degrees at Scottish universities are bestowed after four years of study, with the option to graduate with an ordinary degree after three years or continue with the fourth year of study to obtain an honours degree. Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, Scottish students studying at a Scottish university do not have to pay for tuition fees. The Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) pay course fees for all Scottish students domiciled in Scotland and offer bursaries to eligible students. Scottish students have the option of accepting a loan from the Student Loans Company (SLC), and if eligible, this is payed back after graduation. Scottish students studying outside of Scotland but within the UK have to pay for tuition, but at a reduced rate depending upon how much their chosen institution charges. All Scottish universities attract a high percentage of overseas students, and many have links with overseas institutions.Music
The Scottish music scene is a significant aspect of Scottish culture, with both traditional and modern influences. An example of a traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipe, a wind instrument consisting of one or more musical pipes which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. The Clà rsach, fiddle and accordion are also traditional Scottish instruments, the latter two heavily featured in Scottish country dance bands. Scottish emigrants took traditional Scottish music with them and it influenced early local styles such as country music in North America. Today, there are many successful Scottish bandsLiterature
Scottish literature includes literature written in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin and any other language in which a piece of literature was ever written within the boundaries of modern Scotland. Some of the earliest literature known to have been composed in Scotland dates from the 6th century and includes Gododdin written in Brythonic (Old Welsh) and the Elegy for St Columba by Dallan Forgaill written in Middle Irish. Vita Columbae by Adomnán, the ninth Abbot of Iona, was written in Latin during the 7th century. In the 13th century, French flourished as a literary language long before Early Scots texts appeared in the fourteenth century. After the 17th century, anglicisation increased, though Lowland Scots was still spoken by the vast majority of the population of the Lowlands. The poet and songwriter Robert Burns wrote in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and in a "light" Scots dialect which would have been accessible to a wider audience than simply Scottish people.
The introduction of the movement known as the "kailyard tradition" at the end of the 19th century, brought elements of fantasy and folklore back into fashion. Both J. M. Barrie and Robert Louis Stevenson are examples of this mix of modernity and nostalgia. This tradition has been viewed as a major stumbling block for Scottish literature, focusing, as it did, on an idealised, pastoral picture of Scottish culture, becoming increasingly removed from reality of life in Scotland during that period. Some modern novelists such as Irvine Welsh, (of Trainspotting fame), write in a distinctly Scottish English that reflects the underbelly of contemporary Scottish culture.Sport
Scotland has its own national governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football Association (the second oldest national football association in the world) and the Scottish Rugby Union; and its own national sporting competitions. As such, Scotland enjoys independent representation at many international sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games; although notably not the Olympic Games.
Variations of football have been played in Scotland for centuries with the earliest reference being in 1424.[The national broadcaster for Scotland is BBC Scotland (BBC Alba in Gaelic), a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It runs two national television stations and the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gaidheal amongst others. The main Scottish commercial television station is STV, short for Scottish TV. Border TV, based in Cumbria in England, broadcasts in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. There are also a number of independent local radio stations throughout the country, the largest of which are Clyde 1 and Forth One. Although BBC Scotland and commercial stations broadcast mainly in English, they also have some segments in Gaelic. Tele-G, the only Gaelic language channel, broadcasts on the Freeview platform between 6-7 p.m. every day. Scottish news programmes include the BBC's Reporting Scotland and Newsnight Scotland, as well as regional programmes like Scottish TV's Scotland Today. ]
Scotland has distinct news media. National newspapers such as the Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid), The Herald, and The Scotsman are all produced in Scotland. Regional dailies include The Courier in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north. British newspapers are also widely available. |
A Loganair aircraft at Barra Airport, the only airport in the world where scheduled air services land on a beach runway |
Scotland has four main international airports (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick and Aberdeen) that serve a wide variety of European and intercontinental routes with scheduled and chartered flights. Highland and Islands Airports operate 10 regional airports serving the more remote locations of Scotland.[Informational Site of Highlands and Islands Airports] There is no national airline, however various small airlines have their base in Scotland including Loganair (operates as a franchise of British Airways), Flyglobespan, Air Scotland and ScotAirways.
Scotland has a large and expanding rail network, which, following the Railways Act of 2005, is now managed independently from the rest of the UK.[Transport Scotland, Official transportation site of the Scottish Executive] The East Coast and West Coast Mainlines and the Cross Country Line connect the major cities and towns of Scotland with the English network. First ScotRail operate services within Scotland. The Scottish Executive has pursued a policy of building new railway lines, and reopening closed ones.
The Scottish motorways and major trunk roads are managed by the Scottish Executive. The rest of the road network is managed by the Scottish local authorities in each of their areas. The country's busiest motorway is the M8 which runs from the outskirts of Edinburgh to central Glasgow, and on to Renfrewshire.
Regular ferry services operate between the Scottish mainland and island communities. These services are mostly run by Caledonian MacBrayne, but some are operated by local councils. International ferry travel is available by a daily Superfast Ferries service from Rosyth (near Edinburgh) to Zeebrugge in Belgium, and by a weekly Smyril Line service from Lerwick (Shetland Islands) to Bergen in Norway, and also to the Faroe Islands and on to Iceland.*The Flag of Scotland, the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross, dates from the 9th century, and is thus the oldest national flag still in use, and it can be found flying all over Scotland. The Saltire now also forms part of the design of the Union Flag.
*The Royal Standard of Scotland, a banner showing the Royal Arms of Scotland, is also frequently to be seen, particularly at sporting events involving a Scottish team. Often called the Lion Rampant (after its chief heraldic device), it is technically the property of the monarch and its use by anybody else is illegal, although this is almost universally ignored, and never enforced.
*The unicorn is also used as a heraldic symbol of Scotland. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, used prior to 1603 by the Kings of Scotland, incorporated a lion rampant shield supported by two unicorns. On the Union of the Crowns, the Arms were quartered with those of England and Ireland, and one unicorn was replaced by a lion (the supporters of England).
* William Wallace, a national hero who helped lead a rebellion against the English and their Scottish allies.
*The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, features in many Scottish symbols and logos, and on UK currency. Heather is also considered to be a symbol of Scotland.
Flower of Scotland is popularly held to be the National Anthem of Scotland, and is played at international events such as football or rugby matches involving the Scotland national team. However, since devolution, more serious discussion of a national anthem has led to this being disputed. Other candidates include Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave and A Man's A Man for A' That.[BBC UK News, Scotland; accessed July 19, 2006]
*Tartan is a specific woven textile pattern that often signifies a particular Scottish clan, as featured in a kilt.
*St Andrew's Day, the 30th of November, is the national day, although Burns' Night tends to be more widely observed. Tartan Day is a recent innovation from the United States. There is currently a campaign within the Scottish Parliament to create a national holiday on Saint Andrew's Day.Image:Hadrian's Wall view near Greenhead.jpg|Hadrian's Wall, Scottish-Britannic border in the 2nd century.Image:Brecbennoch.PNG|The Monymusk Reliquary, a relic of medieval Scotland.Image:Forres sueno.jpg|Sueno's Stone, Forres, monument of Scotland's Pictish past.Image:Celtic harp dsc05425.jpg|A medieval Scottish harp, or clarsach.Image:St Mary's Abbey, Iona.jpg|Iona Abbey, often regarded as the "home" of Scottish christianity.Image:MelroseAbbey01.jpg|The Ruins of Melrose Abbey.Image:UigLoch.jpg|The Isle of Lewis.Image:Scotland EileanDonan1.jpg|Eilean Donan.Image:Edinburgh-castle.jpg|Edinburgh Castle.Image:Stirlingcastle.jpg|Stirling Castle.Image:Bb-forthrailbridge.jpg|The Forth Rail Bridge.Image:Modernclyde.JPG|Modern buildings of the River Clyde.
*Wormald, J., The New History of Scotland, London 1981
*Smout, T.C., A History of the Scottish People, Fontana 1969
*Scottish Population History from the 17th Century to the 1930s, CUP 1977
*Burleigh, J., A Church History of Scotland
*Spottiswood, J., The history of the Church of Scotland
*Maps and digital collections at the National Library of Scotland
* The Gazetteer for Scotland - Extensive guide to the places and people of Scotland, by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and University of Edinburgh
* SiliconGlen, Scotland - site hosting the first online guide to Scotland and the soc.culture.scottish FAQ.
*(PDF file) Scottish economic statistics 2005 - from the Scottish Executive
* Scottish Census Results On Line - official government site for Scotland's census results
* Scottish Executive - official site of the Scottish Executive
* Scottish Parliament - official site of the Scottish Parliament
* Scottish Tourist Board - official site of Scotland's national tourist board, VisitScotland
* Scottish news, travel and history - from BBC Scotland
* Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics - Scottish Executive's programme of small area statistics in Scotland
