River use

The Clyde has been a very busy river for many years with use as a transport route peaking between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. As docks and shipyards have closed the number of vessels using the river has declined. The resources sheets include links to resources on uses from the past. There is also information on those who still use the river today, ranging from newly launched destroyers to scrap metal ships and a seaplane. You can find out about future plans for increasing leisure activity on the river and increasing its popularity for transport once again.

Explore the on the water section for details of ways you can use the river now.

Lesson/project ideas (search all lesson/project ideas)

Title	Short description	Related curricular areas	Age group
Boat-building competition with BAE	Pupils are given a brief to design a boat, and are supported by an industrial specialist to build, test and evaluate their designs, as part of a model boat making competition.	Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technologies	Upper Primary, Lower Secondary
Design a water vehicle	Developing learning about boat and building a model vehicle for the Clyde.	Expressive Arts, Science, Social Studies, Technologies	Upper Primary
Exhibition on Glasgow’s connections with the slave trade	Pupils will create an art installation based on the theme of the slave trade for an exhibition to peers and local community.	Expressive Arts, Languages, Religious and Moral Education	Lower Secondary
Futuristic Clyde transport	By considering how transport could be improved along the Clyde, and using skills in design and planning, pupils will create a photomontage of the Clyde waterfront to present for a competition judged by a transport provider.	Expressive Arts, Languages, Science, Social Studies, Technologies	Lower Secondary
Journalism: writing a newspaper article	As journalists, complete an article for the school newsletter on the launch of a ship on the Clyde.	Languages, Social Studies, Technologies	Lower Secondary
Models of structures	Research, design and make models of the ‘Clydebank Titan’ giant cantilever crane to present K’nex models to an audience of peers, community and business in this industry.	Expressive Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technologies	Upper Primary
Monsters of the Clyde	The class will work both individually and as part of a group in order to create ‘Clyde creatures’ and produce a story book about a fictional creature living in the Clyde.	Expressive Arts, Languages, Science, Technologies	Upper Primary
Past, present and future use of River Clyde	Research use of the River Clyde to produce a book for pupils’ learning about the River Clyde.	Expressive Arts, Languages, Social Studies, Technologies	Upper Primary
Report on the launch of a ship from BAE	Pupils will write a newspaper article on the launching of a ship at BAE or the opening of a new bridge on the Clyde, using appropriate language techniques. In most instances it would also be viable for the class to attend an opening if they request tickets from BAE to ensure that their report writing has a real context and value.	Languages, Mathematics, Social Studies	Upper Primary, Lower Secondary
Titan Crane and John Brown's Shipyard	Explores the changes in use of the Titan Crane and John Brown’s Shipyard and its impact on the local community.	Expressive Arts, Languages, Technologies	Upper Primary, Lower Secondary
Transport on the Clyde	Apply knowledge and understanding of technology to design a new public boat service for river transportation.	Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technologies	Lower Secondary
Water safety campaign	A multimedia campaign to promote ‘water safety’ and to warn children about the dangers of rivers.	Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Languages, Science	Upper Primary