Wednesday November 4th 2026
Lesley Smart and Adrian Lawrie and two children School Ambassadors
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Pupils at Newtongrange Primary School have been learning about the global fight to eradicate polio as part of a special World Polio Day initiative organised with Esk Valley Rotary.
Two assemblies were held at the school on Friday, October 23, ahead of World Polio Day on Saturday, October 24.
Pupils from Primary 6 and Primary 7 took the lead in teaching their fellow classmates about the disease and the international campaign to eliminate it through vaccination.
Esk Valley Rotary president Adrian Lawrie and club member Lesley Smart had approached the school to discuss ways pupils could get involved in raising awareness.
The club, which is part of the global Rotary International network, supports the End Polio Now campaign, which aims to eradicate the disease through vaccination programmes, particularly targeting children under five.
Following a short presentation about Rotary from Mr Lawrie, pupils from classes P6M and P7T delivered their own presentation about polio, explaining how cases are now largely restricted to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
They finished with a true-or-false quiz and a performance of A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman, complete with actions.
The pupils also organised a range of fundraising and awareness activities.
They made purple finger-knitted bracelets to hand out to those attending the assemblies, while the school canteen provided biscuits decorated by pupils with purple icing.
Tote bags featuring stencilled End Polio Now messages were also sold to parents and supporters at the end of the school day.
A whole-school poster competition is due to run for two weeks from Monday, October 26, with Esk Valley Rotary providing two prizes for the winning entries.
World Polio Day is marked annually on October 24, with purple used as a symbol of the vaccination campaign. Traditionally, children’s little fingers are marked with purple dye after receiving the vaccine.
Donations raised through the Newtongrange activities will be matched by Esk Valley Rotary before being sent to the End Polio Now campaign.
The Rotary club praised the confidence and enthusiasm shown by the P6 and P7 pupils in sharing what they had learned and supporting efforts to end polio worldwide.
Tweet Share on FacebookNews
