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Chamber and committees

Five S3 Pupils from Stromness Academy Earn £3,000 Grant for Local Charity Soma's Light

  • Submitted by: Liam McArthur, Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats.
  • Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2026
  • Motion type: Standard Motion
  • Motion reference: S6M-20462

That the Parliament congratulates five S3 pupils from Stromness Academy on being awarded a £3,000 grant for the local youth mental health charity, Soma’s Light, through the school's Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI); understands that Lily Harcus, Issy Johnston, Cayla Paton, Alisa Douaneva and Sophie Shargool gave a passionate presentation about the impact of poor mental health among young people in Orkney, during which five candles were lit to represent each person in Orkney who died by suicide in 2025; acknowledges that the money will go toward furthering the work that Soma’s Light does to improve mental health outcomes and prevent suicide among young people by creating initiatives specifically designed with Orkney’s youth in mind and enabling greater access to bereavement support; acknowledges that, in the 10 years that the YPI has run at Stromness Academy, over £30,000 has been awarded to Orkney charities as a result of the efforts of pupils, with further amounts raised for local charitable causes by pupils at Orkney’s other secondary schools, and thanks Lily, Issy, Cayla, Alisa and Sophie for all the hard work involved in earning funds for such an important cause.


Supported by: Karen Adam, Colin Beattie, Miles Briggs, Tim Eagle, Annabelle Ewing, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, Jamie Hepburn, Bill Kidd, Audrey Nicoll, Douglas Ross, Kevin Stewart, Paul Sweeney, Evelyn Tweed, Martin Whitfield, Brian Whittle