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.

Aberdeenshire Council pledges to support local answer to axed Rock Challenge dance contest

Stewart Stevenson MSP presenting an award at the 2018 Global Rock Challenge.
Stewart Stevenson MSP presenting an award at the 2018 Global Rock Challenge.

Aberdeenshire Council has pledged its commitment to helping stage a local version of a popular schools dancing competition which was recently called off.

When the organisers of the UK-wide Rock Challenge contest pulled the plug on an upcoming event in England, scores of north-east youngsters were left crestfallen.

As well as missing out on the fun of the annual bash, they feared they would not have the chance to perform the complex routines they had spent months finessing.

But parents, teachers and organisers have since rallied and are determined to stage a local alternative.

Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP, Stewart Stevenson, has backed those aims and recently wrote to Aberdeenshire Council seeking confirmation of its support.

Yesterday, Mr Stevenson said he was “delighted” to receive a positive response.

He said: “Rock Challenge is a great experience for those involved and I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to attend heats in Aberdeen and finals in Grimsby in recent years.

“The serious message behind Rock Challenge of course is the anti-drugs and anti-crime message that the event actively promotes. Let’s hope that we get a positive outcome for the pupils and students involved.”

The council’s head of education, Vincent Docherty, said: “We will do our very best to maintain the positive benefit a competition such as Rock Challenge provides our young people.

“We are currently investigating the viability of organising such an event and would be keen to offer support where possible.”