BRIDGE is not often played by children, but the card game has become popular with St Columba’s Primary School pupils in Oban.
Principal teacher Siobhan MacLellan explained: ‘I read an article about the benefits of mini-bridge so I contacted Oban Bridge Club and member Sue Pollard and I set up mini-bridge lessons at the school in class-time and then the kids continued it as a lunch club.’
Now a dozen primary 5-7 pupils regularly compete. Sue, who is helped by fellow members Sheena Ambrose and Catherine MacGregor, said: ‘The children play a simplified version of bridge, where there’s no complicated bidding. It’s much easier and they can start playing straight away. It teaches them maths, teamwork, concentration, lateral thinking and social skills as they learn how to behave when they win and how to be gracious in defeat.’