Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Watch: Dundee pupils put pen to paper to elderly friends during lockdown

Primary three pupils at St Clement's RC Primary School in Dundee have been putting pen to paper.
Primary three pupils at St Clement's RC Primary School in Dundee have been putting pen to paper.

For most children, writing a letter is something they only do for Santa at Christmas time.

But for primary three pupils at St Clement’s RC Primary School in Dundee, it’s a skill they are using to keep spirits up during lockdown.

This is because these pupils have been paired with a resident at the care home, Turriff House, and are writing to their new friends as a way of combating loneliness in these tough times.

The class was inspired to take on the project after seeing a news report about a school in England writing to residents during lockdown.

Pupil Maya Ladniak working on her letter.

Teacher Kerry Don said: “The inspiration came from Newsround. We were watching it one afternoon and the children saw another school who were doing letters to a care home.

“One of our pupils, Skylar, said it would be a great idea if we could do it as a class so we ran with it.

“Luckily we have a contact. Oliver’s mum is the manager of Turriff House, so we got in touch with her and she said it would be a great idea.”

The periods of lockdown have been hard for everyone but perhaps most so for those in care homes who may not have been able to see their loved ones for months.

And with video calls not always easily accessible to residents, receiving a letter can be something which they really look forward to.

One of the letters written to the care home residents.

Mrs Don said: “The care homes have been disproportionately affected by this, just like the schools, and we think it would be a lovely connection to send something nice.

“Oliver’s mum was saying that when the residents get something, it lights up their day. They absolutely treasure it.

“It’s also Lent so we are thinking about others during this time, and it’s something nice we can do.

“It all ties in together and we can spread a bit of good news when everyone needs it.”

Jayden Heary shows off his work.

Working on the letters is also proving be an opportunity for the pupils to put their writing skills to the test and they have put their thinking caps on to come up with topics to discuss with their new friends.

“I gave them free rein to write a letter and because they are only primary three, they had no clue what to put in it, Mrs Don explained.

“They were thinking about what the residents might like and we thought about TV programmes families like such as the Chase and Tipping Point.

“We also thought the weather would be a talking point – it was about trying to find a connection.”

Oliver Clark, whose mum is the manager at Turriff House.

Each pupil will be writing to a specific resident, and they have also included a hand drawn picture with the letters to bring an added smile to their faces.

Oliver Clark, who has also been tasked with delivering the letters to the residents, said: “Mrs Don gave us out post-it notes with the person we are writing to.

“I drew a rainbow with a little crown on it and I put the care home in the middle of the rainbow.

“I’m taking them to my mum and I think I might have to hand it to one of the staff members.”