By providing the funding, Aberdeen Standard Investments Charitable Foundation will help the well known Scottish contemporary art gallery to spread the word that creativity is an essential skill for life and should be given as much focus in classrooms as other subjects including maths, science and technology.

Through Making Matters, the Gallery is working with six city centre schools – St Mary’s and Royal Mile primaries; Drummond Community High and St Thomas of Aquin’s RC High; and Prospect Bank and Pilrig Park special schools – to give pupils a greater understanding of art and the creative process.

The programme also supports teachers to develop their own artistic skills and gives them the confidence they need to teach and encourage pupils.

Primary Colours, a recent report by the Fabian Society, details that in recent years, the curricular emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects has meant the importance placed on arts and creative learning is diminishing.

Claire Drummond, head of charitable giving for Aberdeen Standard Investments, said: “Aberdeen Standard Investments may appear to operate in a sector which is driven by facts and statistics, but we know creativity is an essential life skill which cannot be overlooked. By fostering a sense of creativity we can encourage young people to look beyond the ordinary, to think outside the box when it comes to solving problems, to pioneer fresh ideas and to be open to new or different experiences.”