School pupil designs official tartan for Brazil

A North Ayrshire school pupil has designed an official tartan for the people of Brazil that is expected to be used at the World Cup and will hopefully feature in New York’s famous Tartan Week.

The Brazilian Consulate in Edinburgh launched a competition for primary pupils to design the country’s national tartan.

Largs Primary School was chosen to take part for a number of reasons, including its close proximity to Kelburn Castle in Fairlie – which has been partially covered in eye-catching graffiti art by acclaimed Brazilian artists.

Another local connection is the contribution of Charles William Miller, who is credited with introducing the sport of football to Brazil and is known as “the Father of Brazilian football.”

He was born in Sao Paulo to Fairlie-born father John, who was a railway engineer, and Brazilian mum Carlota - and went on to set up the first state football tournament there.

Creative P1 pupil Indie Menzies, aged six, came up with the concept for the Spirit of Brazil. Indie said: “I really enjoyed drawing my ideas for the tartan, and I hope everybody in Scotland and Brazil likes it.”

Football fans might get a glimpse of the tartan when Scotland play Brazil in the World Cup in Miami on 24 June, as it may appear at a number of official events.

And it is hoped that it could also feature in New York’s world-famous Tartan Week in April as part of the annual Tartan Day Parade along Sixth Avenue.

Faroque Hussain, who has a child at Largs Primary and serves as the Honorary Consul of Brazil in Scotland, helped to choose the winner.

He said: “The Spirit of Brazil has been officially recognised as the national tartan of The Federative Republic of Brazil. All of the children involved in the Consulate’s competition did a great job and it was really difficult for us to choose a winner.”

The formal global launch of the "Spirit of Brazil" tartan is scheduled for later this spring, and on Monday (16 February) a presentation was held at the school with Provost Anthea Dickson to thank pupils for their creativity and to showcase Indie’s winning design to the local community.

Brazilian Consul General, João Pedro Correa Costa, explained: “Indie’s mix of colours represent the forests of Brazil and Scotland's natural landscapes, Brazil's national colours, is a nod to both countries’ flags, includes a subtle tribute to the school and also signifies unity between the two nations.”

João Pedro had help from Slanj Kilts and P7 pupils from the school to judge the entries.

He added: “I would like to congratulate Indie on her wonderful design and thank all of the pupils for taking part.

“I am sure the tartan will be popular and will have a presence at many events for years to come, and 20 per cent of all sales will go to supporting young people in both countries.

“We are looking forward to the launch ahead of the World Cup, which holds added significance given that Brazil and Scotland will be playing one another.”

Headteacher Lynne Cathcart is delighted that the school has played a role in the creation of the new tartan.

“It was a privilege for the school to be involved, and the pupils were really invested in the project. It really captured their imagination, and they thoroughly enjoyed coming up with different concepts using various colours,” she said.

Published: 17 February 2026