Forres Gazette

1 week ago | forres-gazette.co.uk | Lewis McBlane

A verdict on plans to restrict mobile phone use in schools is due next week, as parents and staff back the measures but pupils stand opposed. Moray Council officers have recommended that councillors adopt the new policy, which would affect both primary and secondary schools, at a committee meeting. Under the plans there would be “no mobile phones or devices present” in primary schools, and secondary pupils would be told to keep devices “switched off and out of sight” during the school day.

1 week ago | forres-gazette.co.uk | Andrew Henderson

Trailblazing footballer Zander Murray visited the north of Scotland to deliver two talks on homophobia in the sport, and how to make sports clubs more inclusive, this week. In September 2022, the then-Gala Fairydean Rovers striker became the first Scottish male player to come out as gay. Since then, he has turned advocacy into his full-time job alongside playing, delivering talks to schools, football academies and community groups off the pitch while continuing to star on it.

1 week ago | forres-gazette.co.uk | Jonny Clark

Moray is celebrating VE Day in style as events across the area commemorate the end of World War II in Europe. VE Day - or Victory in Europe Day - takes place on May 8 each year and marks the end of the war on European soil. The Japanese surrender in August marked the end of the war itself. This year’s VE Day celebrations are particularly poignant as it is 80 years since the guns fell silent.

1 week ago | forres-gazette.co.uk | Alan Beresford

As the nation prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, a care home group has unveiled a podcast featuring residents who served during World War II. Entitled Peace at Last: Memories of VE Day, Parklands Care Homes’ two-part podcast sees residents from care homes in Moray and the Highlands take centre stage, sharing their first-hand experiences of wartime.

1 week ago | forres-gazette.co.uk | Garry McCartney

Forres will remember the end of the Second World War with local events on Thursday, May 8 - AKA Victory in Europe Day. VE Day marks the formal acceptance by the Allies in Europe (Great Britain, the United States, and Russia) of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on that date in 1945, when Germany surrendered all military operations.