The RSCDS is committed to developing and growing Scottish Country Dance for future generations and ensuring this wonderful form of traditional dance is enjoyed by people worldwide.
To help dancers achieve their goals and become global ambassadors for Scottish Country Dancing, the RSCDS offers scholarships and funding opportunities that allow dancers to take part in events, grow their local Branch or Group and promote dancing in their community. To read more on the many scholarships and funding opportunities available please visit their respective pages.
A number of scholarships and funds commemorate individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to Scottish Country Dancing.
One of the co-founders of the RSCDS in 1923 and a driving force behind the promotion of Scottish Country Dancing throughout her life, Miss Milligan is commemorated in the RSCDS’s main grant-giving fund, the Jean Milligan Memorial Fund (JMMF).
A secondary-school PE teacher in Glasgow, Duncan McLeod trained at Jordanhill College, tutored by Jean Milligan. Duncan and his wife, Sheena, were members of Glasgow Branch and danced for Miss Milligan in the international teams in the 1950s.
Duncan served as Chairman of the RSCDS and following Miss Milligan’s death became Director of Summer School.
The scholarship set up in his memory enables a young person training as a PE teacher to attend a certificate course at Summer School.
Kitty McLaughlin, a much-respected music teacher from Arbroath, started to play the piano at the age of five, ultimately winning a Caird Scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music.
She had a long association with the Arbroath Music Festival where she was an accompanist for the country dance classes. Her interest in SCD came from her mother and continued over many years during which she played for dance classes at festivals around the country and at Summer School.
The Kitty McLaughlin Award is a scholarship offered to attend the Summer School Musicians’ Course.
Derek Haynes was from Liverpool and started SCD in 1953, joining Liverpool Branch in 1954 and serving until 1962 as teacher, committee member and treasurer.
For many years he taught SCD for local authority adult classes and SCD holiday weekends, and both country and highland dancing at Summer School. He was well known as a deviser of dances, including three published by the RSCDS: Neidpath Castle, Miss Gibson’s Strathspey and The Clansman, all featuring frequently in dance programmes.
The Derek Haynes Award is offered annually to members aged 16-25 to attend Summer School.
Alastair Aitkenhead, from Ardrossan, entered Jordanhill College as a trainee PE teacher in 1940, completing his training after army service. In his subsequent teaching career, he was noted for his enthusiasm in encouraging SCD amongst children.
He helped to establish the NW Ayrshire Branch in 1948. Having taught at Summer School, he was later its Deputy Director, and Chairman of the Society from 1988 to 1991.
Two Alastair Aitkenhead Scholarships to attend Summer School are offered to young dancers annually .
A scholarship for dancers, preferably full-time students aged 16-25, is funded by proceeds from the ‘Wee Green Book’ and named after its contributor John Duckett, the first to use a computer to draw its diagrams in the 6th edition (1992).
Donating or leaving a legacy
The RSCDS is a charitable organisation that develops and promotes Scottish Country Dancing for future generations. If your circumstances make it possible to set up a gift or legacy, you would be able to contribute to the future well-being of the RSCDS through enabling it to embark on projects and initiatives which would otherwise be beyond its means.
In most of the legal jurisdictions in which the RSCDS has a presence there are likely to be significant tax benefits in making gifts and legacies. While the making of gifts does not, necessarily, require professional involvement, it is usually best for individuals who wish to leave a legacy to consult a lawyer who will draw up or amend an existing Will to accommodate that wish. The details the lawyer will require to be told are:
- The amount of the legacy
- The purpose for which it is to be used
- The name and address of the Society – to enable it to be clearly identified. (The Society is “The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, 12 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, Scotland.”)
It is important to remember that the Society is not inviting gifts and legacies with the intention that such would be added to the Society’s “general funds”. There are a number of existing funds which are used for specific purposes, development or bursaries. The practice of the Management Board, to date, has been to place legacies for which no object has been specified in the JMMF, which supports work related to the development of the Society.
Thank you for your support.
