As the end of the school term approaches, it is a fair bet that the nation’s teachers are ready for a drink – so Scottish cider company Lost Orchards is offering to buy them all a pint.
On the last day of term, while stocks of Lost Orchard last at participating pubs, teachers and school staff can claim their complimentary cider by showing school ID, a staff lanyard, a Lost Orchards social media post, or simply by offering up an apple as a swap.
Lost Orchards, based at East Adamston Farm near Dundee, was founded by Andrew Husband and Angus Morrison, with a commitment to use Scottish-grown and pressed apples in their cider, rather than basing their brew on imported concentrate.
To that ambitious end, as well as making cider, the company is busy replanting thousands of apple trees as part of a long-term plan to bring commercial orchards back to Scotland – replacing what was lost during the 20th century’s wars, when thousands of apple trees were abruptly dug up to make space for grain crops.
Before that great clearance, when apple trees were a feature of Scotland’s rural communities, low-income families would often gift fruit to their local teachers in recognition of their educational efforts.
Over time, this became the tradition of ‘an apple for the teacher’ – which Lost Orchard’s is this week recasting as ‘a cider for the teacher’.
Co-founder Morrison said: “Scotland’s teachers deserve a round on us.
“The end of term is a huge milestone for teachers and school staff, and after a year of lesson plans, parents’ evenings, report cards and classroom chaos, we thought they had earned something more refreshing than another apple.
“We know teachers appreciate every end-of-term gift they get, but for those who have enough apples, or just don’t really like them, we wanted to offer a well-deserved pint of cider instead.
“It still starts with an apple, but this time it’s one grown here in Scotland and turned into something teachers can enjoy properly as they clock off for summer.”
To coincide with the varying last days of term in each local authority area, Lost Orchards’ offer will be available in Glasgow on Thursday 25 June, at Bank Street Bar, Ben Nevis Bar, Brass Monkey and Dukes Bar; in Edinburgh on Friday 26 June at Oxford Bar, Lioness of Leith, and Evergreen Bar; in Stirlingshire on Friday 26 June at the Fintry Inn and the Inn at Kippen; and in Fife on Friday 3 July at The Shoregate, Crail.
Teachers and school staff aged 18 and over can claim one complimentary Lost Orchards cider by showing school identification, a staff lanyard, a Lost Orchards social media post – or by bringing along an apple.
