ANDREW BATCHELOR: The most powerful questions I’ve ever been asked came from a classroom in Dundee

There are moments in this job that remind you exactly why you started.

Being invited into St Ninian’s Primary School to speak to pupils about Dundee Culture was one of them.

When I was in primary school myself, I vaguely remember having careers weeks where people from different professions would come in and speak about what they did. Back then, it felt like something quite distant - adults with careers, jobs and experiences that seemed a world away from where we were sitting in the classroom.

So to now be on the other side of that, speaking to pupils about a platform I started when I was 12 years old, genuinely felt surreal.

And there was no better place for it than St Ninian’s Primary School, which is regarded by many as one of the best schools in the city.

The timing of the visit also felt special. Dundee Culture has gone through its biggest period of growth over the past three years, evolving from a local social media page into one of the most visited online platforms in Dundee. To speak openly about that journey - from being a young boy with a passion for the city to building something that now reaches millions of people every month - felt incredibly rewarding.

What made the experience even more powerful was that I was speaking to Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils, children who are around the same age I was when Dundee Culture first began.

12 year old Andrew two weeks after starting Dundee Culture

In many ways, I saw a little bit of myself in that room.

What struck me most throughout the morning was the number of hands going up. The vast majority of pupils wanted to ask questions, and they weren’t just surface-level ones either. Some were professional, asking about Dundee Culture’s website, social media and how the platform grew over time. Others were deeply personal.

They asked about my auntie, who inspired my love for Dundee and played a huge role in shaping my passion for the city. They asked about my disabilities too - something I was very open about.

I spoke about living with hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that affects one side of my body. It is something visible, something lifelong, and something that has shaped my experiences growing up. That conversation naturally led into discussions around epilepsy and autism, which I also have.

What mattered to me was that the pupils listened with kindness, curiosity and maturity.

One of the most touching moments of the day came after I had spoken about my dyslexia. A Primary 6 pupil told me that they also had dyslexia. That moment stayed with me because it showed trust. Sometimes all it takes is hearing somebody else speak openly about their experiences for a young person to feel understood.

The biggest moments in Dundee Culture's journey

We also spoke about some of the biggest moments in Dundee Culture’s journey.

I talked about the role the platform played during the Covid pandemic, when weekly updates became a source of information and comfort for thousands of people across the city at a very uncertain time. That period saw Dundee Culture grow massively and even led to a job offer from Dundee Heritage Trust.

Of course, Mills Observatory came up too.

That campaign changed my life.

Helping save Mills Observatory is my proudest Dundee Culture achievement

Helping lead a social media campaign that contributed to a 121% increase in visitor numbers remains one of the achievements I am proudest of. Not only because of the figures, but because it helped protect an important part of Dundee’s cultural identity.

That partnership also opened the door to becoming Marketing Manager at the Dundee Museum of Transport, which I also talked about, including my role and our upcoming new home at Maryfield.

Getting a mentor is my best advice

The pupils were fascinated by how Dundee Culture’s website was created and how the platform operates day-to-day. We even spoke about mentorship and the importance of always learning.

I explained that every month I meet with my own mentor who I have had for 8 years: Irene Duncan, who is the former head of publishing at DC Thomson, overseeing the likes of The Beano and The Dandy, and who has a background in publishing to discuss Dundee Culture, ideas, challenges, and the future. When the pupils asked what the best advice I could give was, my answer was simple: find a mentor.

You never stop learning.

That learning doesn’t end after primary school, secondary school, college or university. The people around you continue to shape your thinking throughout life.

The pupils also asked important questions about balance and pressure.

After telling them that Dundee Culture runs every single day, they asked whether I ever take breaks. I spoke honestly about needing time away earlier this year after the workload became overwhelming, and how important it is to recognise when you need to step back and recharge.

The worst parts of the job

There were also tougher conversations.

I was asked what the worst part of the job was, and I answered honestly - trolls, abuse and the darker side of social media. Rarely, but sometimes, comments on Dundee Culture have ranged from death threats, racism and political attacks with myself being targeted from time to time by people who don't even follow Dundee Culture.

Thankfully, tools now exist to block certain words and reduce that behaviour, but I told the pupils something important: the people behind those comments are often adults behaving far less maturely than the children I spoke to that morning.

And honestly, that was true.

I also shared one of the most frightening experiences I have had while working. Earlier last year, while creating content for the Scottish Album of the Year Awards in the City Square, I was confronted by a group of teenagers who wrongly believed I was filming them. I was followed, threatened and nearly had my phone stolen.

It was a situation I never imagined I would find myself in.

They had mistaken me for another social media page that often spreads negativity about Dundee purely for engagement. I wanted the pupils to understand that while social media can create opportunities, it also comes with responsibility and consequences.

But despite all the challenges, the message I wanted to leave them with was ultimately a hopeful one.

Before I left the classroom, I told them one thing:

Nothing is impossible.

Because it isn’t.

Days like this matter so much

A 12-year-old boy creating posts about Dundee from his bedroom could never have imagined speaking in front of classrooms one day about building one of the city’s biggest online platforms.

He could never have imagined helping save Mills Observatory, working with major organisations, travelling internationally through opportunities connected to Dundee Culture, or inspiring young people in the same city he grew up in.

And that is why days like this matter so much.

To the staff at St Ninian’s Primary School, thank you for the incredibly warm welcome and for creating such an encouraging environment for your pupils. And to every single pupil who asked a question, listened carefully or shared something personal themselves - thank you.

You made the morning unforgettable.

It was genuinely one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in this job.