Being Brave for Children Across Scotland
We are proud to commemorate 150 years of caring for disadvantaged children, young people and families across Scotland, recognising their rights to having a decent childhood.
In 1875 Canon Charles Jupp, founder of the Aberlour Orphanage wrote:-
- brave words that ring as true for us today as they did back then.
Discover how we celebrated our 150 year journey.
Aberlour's 150th anniversary was an opportunity to celebrate the work the charity delivers and commemorate our long history.
Aberlour had a range of activities and events organised throughout 2025. All of our activities were underpinned by a nod to the past, present and future. They:
- Acknowledged our past, recognising where we've come from, telling the story of Aberlour and the tens of thousands of children and young people we have supported.
- Recognised our achievements, celebrating what we've achieved for children and families over the past 150 years.
- Focused on our future vision of beating poverty and discrimination for children. There is much more work to be done to achieve this.
Our focus for our 150th year will be to help even more children and families across Scotland. A key aim is to ensure "no child should go hungry in school".
We had already made an impact in this area by influencing the Scottish Government to remove school meal debt over the last two years. Our aim was to achieve an outcome in 2025 that permanently removes this debt for families.
Aberlour Tartan
To celebrate our milestone year we designed and launched our own Aberlour Children’s Charity 150th Anniversary tartan. The design was chosen with the help of our children, young people, staff and volunteers and features colours inspired by the Aberlour countryside and our origins in Speyside. The tartan stands as a reminder of how far we’ve come in supporting Scotland’s children and creates a lasting legacy for our future.
Aberlour Orphanage Magazine: 150 years of residential care - For over a century and a half Aberlour Children's Charity has been caring for Scotland's disadvantaged children and families. Our charity started life as a small orphanage in Aberlour.
In our own words - The voices of Aberlour from staff and volunteers to young people and experts, are raised to illuminate the charity's work supporting children and their families.
Aberlour 150th Anniversary Cookbook - The cookbook was a collaboration from nine of the young people supported by Aberlour. This was part of the Creative Community’s project that showcased the young people’s ideas and ways to celebrate the birthday of Aberlour.
Creative Communities - Celebrating 150 years of Aberlour through the power of creativity! We're grateful to all our creators took part in this project, some of which are showcased in this brochure.
Highlights from Our 150th Anniversary
150 Years in video
Watch our 150th anniversary videos. From how our current supported young people helped create our 150th logo to interviews with residents of the original Aberlour orphanage.
- Aberlour Voices
- Happy 150th Birthday Aberlour!
- Aberlour 150th Logo Reveal
- Celebrate our 150th anniversary with us!
- Aberlour then and now: 150th anniversary exhibition tour
- Aberlour village 150th anniversary party
- Happy 150th Birthday Aberlour!
- Young people decorate a 150th birthday cake for Aberlour childrens charity
- Aberlour 150th Anniversary Bagpipe Tune
- Aberlour Archive Visit
- Happy Birthday Aberlour from our disability service in Lothian!
- Clare and Joe test knowledge of Aberlour
- Omar's experience of snow sports camp with Aberlour Youth Club
- Aberlour Tartan Kilt Making Video - Aberlour 150th
- Stories from Aberlour Orphanage: Rosemary's Story
- Stories from Aberlour Orphanage: Avril's Story
- Stories from Aberlour Orphanage: Ron's Story
- Stories from Aberlour Orphanage: Nancy and William's Story