By: Arthur Liao
You walk inside a building to take pictures of twins at the dress rehearsal that signals the beginning of primary school. When you get there, you find that each twin is wearing the same clothing as their sibling, and it is nearly impossible to tell them apart. The number of twins wasn’t what you were expecting either. Same height, matching clothes, matching eyes, matching, well…, everything!
A community in Scotland is being called ‘Twinverclyde’ by the townsfolk because 17 sets of twins have joined primary one (which is usually up until kids go into fifth grade). The county, called Inverclyde, has recorded 147 sets of twins since 2013, averaging roughly 13 per year. This year’s number of twins surprisingly isn’t the most ever, because in 2015, 19 sets of twins entered Inverclyde schools! Still, teachers are having to double take as 17 sets of twins prepare to enter the school this year.
Most of the classes starting in the Fall of 2023 came to St. Patrick’s Primary School in Greenock to gather for a dress rehearsal, which, Graeme Brooks, part of the Inverclyde Council claims, “has become an annual tradition in Inverclyde, or Twinverclyde as we’re known, to welcome the twins into primary one. Excitement is definitely building for the start of the new term next week and what better way to look forward to that than seeing the pupils here looking resplendent in their uniforms.” The dress rehearsal helps students feel more comfortable and get them prepared for the beginning of the year.
Brooks also expressed her gratitude for all the schools taking in the twins every year. “We’re lucky to have so many incredible schools here in Inverclyde with every one renewed or extensively refurbished, including St Patrick’s which was rebuilt and opened in 2016, thanks to the council’s unprecedented quarter of a billion pound investment in our schools estate.”
Among the many pairs of siblings, five-year-olds Anna and Aaron Fulton, who are enrolled in another local school – King’s Oak Primary, are excited to enter school. Anna says, “It’s such a big day, after a long wait for them to start it’s come in too quickly almost.” Anna is excited, though after waiting such a long time for the school season to start, she feels like it has come very soon.
How many twins will show up next year? Will it be a record breaking 20? It might be interesting for townsfolk, but for teachers, not really.
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