ahs newsletter 29

Senior Beanfeast - December 2006

Issue 29

March 2007

Head Teacher’s Comments 2

School Development Plan 07/08 2

Important Dates 07/08 3

AHS School Board 3

How are we doing? 4

Chemical Connection Visits AHS 6

The AHS Writers Group 6

AHS Environment Committee 7

Responses to Bullying at AHS 7

ASN News 89

AHS at the Drama Festival 10

Inside this issue:

Anderson High School Newsletter

Photo: John Coutts

Transition to Post 16 Education 10

Club XL 11

A Curriculum for Excellence 11

School of Ambition 1213

SRC Update 07/08 14

Duke of Edinburgh Award 14

School Inspectors Launch Report 15

“Tunester” Music Club 15

Singing Matters 16

Library News 16

Adv Higher Modern Studies Trip 17

Young Enterprise 18

What’s on our Website? 18

Running Club 18

Video Analysis in PE 19

Pupil Safety and Cars 19

Netball Competition 20

Lunchtime Activities 20

Volleyball Tournament 20

Athletics 21

Our cover photographs remind us of the outstanding Senior Beanfeast just before Christmas. What an impressive sight it was to see 300 of our young folk so well turned out and crowding onto the floor to dance to Leeshinat, Dance Band and the school disco. The junior parties proved to be just as great a success. Many thanks to all who worked hard to make these events so memorable for all.

The summer term ahead holds Scottish Qualification Examinations for S4, 5 and 6. Good luck to all concerned. All pupils should take full advantage of the extra support and advice offered by teachers at this time of year.

We also look forward to the Activities in May (23 rd 25 th ) when all pupils in S1, 2 and 3 take part in a range of opportunities around Shetland. At the same time, school trips will head south, and abroad.

Thinking of trips, I was delighted to hear how well last week’s “Club XL” event had gone (see page 11), after a shaky start with a cancelled boat and an earlybird flight. With Mrs Christine Carter at the helm, the Anderson High met up with Barrhead High School in Glasgow, and then attended the Princes Trust Club XL Celebration Day.

Finally, many thanks to all Class 5 parents who took the time to complete questionnaires. I have shown all of the results on pages 4 and 5. It is good to see how you feel we are doing, and we will certainly look at improving communication with home over the next year or so.

Ms Valerie Nicolson Head Teacher

Head Teacher’s Comments

Anderson High School

By the end of March, the school will produce its annual Development Plan. The full document will be displayed on the school website. Paper copies will be available from the School Office. This year, we will be concentrating on six target areas.

School Development Plan 2007-2008

Target Area What’s this about?

1. A Curriculum for Excellence Nationally, there are plans to take a fresh look at the way pupils learn in schools. See the article on page 11 by Mr Cameron, Depute Head Teacher.

2. Citizenship (a) Ecoschool

(b) Celebrating pupil success

School now has an active Environment group. We would like to support their enthusiasm by getting the whole school involved in some way. We may have an “Environment Audit” of how we could be more ecofriendly, and save money, around the school.

Pupils, and teachers, feel we could do more to celebrate what we do well. We will try to do this more in 20078.

3. I.C.T. There is so much new technology in school now. Staff need to be trained, and we all need to share good ideas on how to use it. We need to survey how well things are going, and what could be done even better.

4. The School Estate (a) New school

(b) School security

We need to commit time to working with the local authority, architects and contractors, as we plan the new school.

We need to prioritise time and money to improve the security around the school.

5. Homeschool communication In our questionnaires to parents of S2 and S5, we have been told that families would like more information to be communicated home. Possible themes include S1/2 course information booklets and thinking about parents’ nights. In addition, time will need to be spent establishing the new Parent Council. See Mr West’s comments on page 3.

6. School Of Ambition The final year – Year 3

20078 will be the last year of our additional finance for School of Ambition. We need to ensure that all the effort is maintained beyond the period when the funding stops. See Mr Hay’s article on pages 1213.

Term 3 Monday 08 January - Friday 30 March 2007 inclusive Please note that school closes at 1.00 pm on

Easter Holidays Monday 02 April - Friday 13 April 2007 inclusive Friday 30 March 2007, and 12.05 pm on

Term 4 Monday 16 April - Friday 06 July 2007 inclusive Friday 06 July 2007.

Summer Holidays Monday 09 July - Friday 17 August 2007 inclusive

TERM DATES FOR SESSION 2007/2008

Term 1 Monday 20 August - Friday 12 October 2007 inclusive

October Holidays Monday 15 October - Friday 26 October 2007 inclusive

Term 2 Monday 29 October - Friday 21 December 2007 inclusive

Christmas Holidays Monday 24 December 2007 - Friday 04 January 2008 inclusive

Term 3 Monday 07 January - Friday 28 March 2008 inclusive

Easter Holidays Monday 31 March - Friday 11 April 2008 inclusive

Term 4 Monday 14 April - Friday 04 July 2008 inclusive

Teacher’s In Service Training Days 2007 - 2008 Occasional Holiday Dates for Session 2007 - 2008

Thursday 31 May 2007 Monday 16 April 2007 Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 August 2007 Friday 01 June 2007 Thursday 08 and Friday 09 November 2007 Wednesday 30 January 2008 Tuesday 03 June 2008 Friday 29 and Monday 03 March 2008

Monday 14 April 2008 Monday 02 June 2008

Important Dates 2007/2008

I would like to, on your behalf, thank those who have been involved with the Anderson High School Board over these past years, for their efforts and time spent on Board business.

The design firm BDP continue to work on the final design phase of the new school and the Council are exploring a number of options regarding potential contractors.

The schools website has been used by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) to launch their new report ICT in Learning and Teaching and the school’s Global Classroom has just featured in the Times Educational Supplement for Scotland (TESS). It is encouraging to see our school being used as an example of good practise in these areas and we should all be proud of these achievements.

May I wish all those pupils preparing to sit their Standard, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher exams all the very best and for those pupils leaving this year I wish them success in their chosen career/further studies.

Dear Parent/Carer

We are now into the last few months of the Anderson High School Board, as it ceases to exist in July. As you are aware the Board is to be replaced by a Parent Forum and Parent Council. Each of you will become a member of the Parent Forum and it’s then over to you to form the Parent Council. We as a School Board have been involved in the setting up of the new structure. We would like to thank those involved in the initial review group and also thank all of you for your views and comments regarding the new constitution. The Schools Service is now reviewing the final drafts of the Parent Council constitutions for all Shetland schools. A summary of the main points of each constitution will then be sent to the relevant Parent Forum members for final comment in April.

The next stage is the selection of our new Parent Council and we look forward to receiving your nominations in May. The inaugural meeting of the Anderson High School Parent Council will be in June. Remember the Anderson High School Parent Council needs You!!

We as a Board are here to represent your views, so please feel free to contact us if there are any matters you wish raised.

School Board Membership (as at 01/03/07):

Sandy West Parent Member (Chairperson)

James Hutton Parent Member George McGhee Coopted Member Paul Regan Teacher Member Martin Shearer Parent Member

(Vice Chairperson) Lise Sinclair Parent Member William Spence Parent Member Caroline Watt Teacher Member Laura Guthrie Coopted Member

SRC Arlene Gardner Clerk Cecil Eunson Councillor Valerie Nicolson Head Teacher

AHS School Board - Mr S West, Chairperson

Issue 29


In January and February, we surveyed Class 5 pupils, and their parents, about how things were going this school year. Class 5 is a particularly interesting stage in Anderson High School as so many pupils make the move from junior high schools. Mr Moncrieff’s article on page 10 highlights many of the challenges at this time.

Table 1: Responses from Class 5 Parents and Carers (70 returned)

If your son/daughter attended a junior high school until June 2006, please complete the following questions (33 completed)

As a result of this questionnaire, and the feedback from parents of Class 2 last year, we are making “homeschool communication” a theme in our Development Plan for 20078. We do need to look at the information we are sending home, as many of you would like to know more about expectations from the pupils and what our priorities are. Several parents commented on the format of parents’ evenings, so we will take a closer look at these too. We intend to use the pupil responses to help us fur ther discuss how best to learn in Class 5, and will be holding assemblies based around the answers given.

I really do appreciate the time many of you took to complete the questionnaires. Thank you.

How are we doing? What do you think? - Ms V Nicolson

STRONGLY AGREE

AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

BLANK

1 My child enjoys being at school 24 39 4 1 1

2 My child finds school work stimulating and challenging 17 47 2 1 2

3 The school has a good reputation in the local community 24 40 1 4

4 Teachers are good at letting me know my child’s strengths and weaknesses

12 43 13 2

5 Teachers in this school set high standards for pupils’ attainment.

21 43 3 2

6 I attended the S5 information evening in June 2006 (YES 41) I found it useful

14 23 3 1

7 I attended the S5 Parents Evening in Nov 2006 (YES 54) I found it helpful and informative

21 30 1 1 1

8 Staff make me feel welcome in the school 26 44

9 The school encourages my child to work to the best of his/ her ability

21 43 4 1 1

10 School buildings are kept in good order 10 57 1 2

11 The school has explained how I can support my child with his/her homework

8 51 8 2 1

12 I have a clear idea of the school’s priorities for improving the education of pupils

8 42 19 1

13 My child is treated fairly in the school 19 47 2 1 1

14 The school deals effectively with inappropriate behaviour 11 45 8 1 5

15 The school makes it clear to parents what standard of work it expects from the pupils

21 42 5 2

16 There is mutual respect between teachers and pupils at the school

12 53 3 2

17 Staff show concern for the care and welfare of my child 18 46 2 1 3

18 The school is good at consulting me on decisions which affect my child

12 41 10 7

19 If I raise a matter of concern the school will do something about it

15 40 6 1 8

20 I know who my child’s Pupil Support teacher is and feel comfortable about contacting them

29 35 2 4

21 The school is well led 24 37 1 0 8

STRONGLY AGREE


BLANK

22 My child benefited from visiting the AHS in advance of joining Class 5

21 9 2 1

23 It was useful to have AHS teachers visit the junior high school, when my child was in Class 4

18 11 1 1 2

24 Overall, the move from junior high school to Anderson High School has been smooth

17 14 2


Table 2: Responses from Class 5 Pupils (170 completed)

Pupils who attended Junior High School until 2006 – 81 completed

Pupils who attended Anderson High School until 2006 – 82 completed

STRONGLY AGREE


BLANK

1 I enjoy being at this school 18 117 30 5

2 Teachers explain things clearly 3 133 28 4 2

3 Staff in the school are good at dealing with bullies 8 85 52 17 8

4 At least one teacher knows me well 45 98 21 4 2

5 Teachers tell me how I am getting on with my work 22 113 30 3 2

6 Teachers help me when I am having difficulties 28 119 18 4 1

7 Teachers tell me when I have done something well 20 119 28 2 1

8 I get about the right amount of homework 18 115 30 5 2

9 Teachers listen to what I say 15 122 27 5 1

10 I know what to do at school if there is something that 29 107 30 4

11 All pupils are treated fairly in the school 17 78 59 16

12 Pupils have a say in deciding how to improve the school 22 108 30 9 1

13 The behaviour of pupils in school is good 9 111 41 9

14 Teachers expect me to work to the best of my ability 65 105 0 0

15 If there is something that worries me, the school is good at helping sort things out

11 96 51 9 3

16 I get on well with other pupils 74 90 6 0

17 I feel safe and secure in the school 44 104 18 4

18 My teachers are good at letting me know how my learning can be improved

17 116 33 3 1

19 Teachers check my homework 16 119 31 3 1

20 The school helps me to keep myself safe and healthy (eg, by teaching me about healthy eating, personal relation ships and the dangers of drugs, alcohol and smoking)

23 109 32 5 1

STRONGLY AGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY BLANK

21 I found the visit to AHS, in S4, useful 15 49 13 0 4

22 It was helpful to have AHS teachers visit my junior high school

8 54 13 2 4

23 I had enough information about my new school before arriving here

4 53 19 2 3

24 I enjoyed the Induction Day at Clickimin in June 17 30 18 12 4

25 I enjoy being in Class 5 10 57 14 0

26 I am working as hard as I can 15 46 18 2

STRONGLY AGREE


BLANK

27 I had enough information about Class 5 to make appropriate choices

19 48 14 1

28 I enjoyed the Induction Day at Clickimin in June 22 40 17 1 2

29 I enjoy being in Class 5 13 48 17 4

30 I am working as hard as I can 17 49 13 3

a Shetland playwright talked to us about how to create a play and told us a bit about her new play, which is the first play that she has not written in Shetland dialect.

A new idea for the writers group is the website ‘Write Around The World’. It is linked with the Global Classroom project and encourages us young writers to meet other young writers from around the world and discuss our writing, which we can download onto the site and by doing this we can make new friends.

At the moment there are around six to eight writers and the group leaders are Miss Jamieson and Mrs Dargie. Our meetings are peaceful and friendly. So if you want to write and to meet new people, come down to Room 3 in English on Fridays at lunchtime. See you there!

Are there any budding writers out there who would like to learn how to make their writing more interesting or who would just like to meet new people? Then come to Writers Group! Here you can write whatever you like, meet new people, friends, and local writers, and show your writing to people from all over the world!

Local writers are invited to talk to us about their writing and to give us tips on how to improve our writing. Christian Tait, a local Shetland writer, told us about her Shetland poetry and how she is planning a new novel. Jacqui Clark,

The AHS Writers Group – Gemma Buchan 3A

This session, two postgraduate students from the University of Edinburgh visited the school to carry out interactive chemistry workshops with groups of chemistry pupils.

The idea of Chemical Connection was pioneered by Lesley Yellowlees, Colin Pulham and Elizabeth Stevenson – all staff members at the University of Edinburgh. They realised that there was a large demand for exciting, interactive chemistry workshops and lectures around schools and other community groups. This led to the setting up of a threeyear project funded by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The EPSRC funding employs two postdoctoral chemists, Paul Murray and Robin Andrews who drive and deliver the project all over Britain. Their aims are to excite, enthuse and educate people about chemistry and provide positive role models of Chemists in order to combat the current bad image that Chemists and “Chemicals” have in the media.

We were delighted to welcome Paul and Robin to the Anderson High and to Shetland. Paul (a keen folk fiddler) was also delighted to be here and sample some of the broader Shetland cultural activities. The team was in the school for two days and fulfilled all our expectations.

They met with a variety of chemistry pupils from S4 to S6 and through their workshops and lectures enhanced the pupils understanding and perception of

“Chemistry and what Chemists Do”. We hope that they will visit us again before their project finishes.

Here are some comments from pupils and some action shots from the workshops.

Chemical Connection Visits AHS - Mrs M Yeaman


Some Chemistry students experimenting with Hydrogen as a fuel.

Making chemical models of everyday substances.

“I liked making chemical models of cosmetics and other stuff we use.”

“We learned that Chemists are involved in designing new products and new technology to make our lives better.”

“I learned how the stars shine and made some photographic paper stars using weird chemicals.”

“I liked setting hydrogen bubbles on fire and getting to wear white coats and purple gloves.”

SIC. Hopefully everyone found the bags usefully for carrying home their raffle prizes, homebakes and other goodies from the coffee morning!

The prize draw, for a copy of “Planet Earth: the future” was won by Mrs Norma Smith, well done!

Well done to everyone who helped prepare for the event and a special thank you to HannahMary and Michaela who did an excellent job on the stall.

Some Current Projects:

After initial involvement by several members of staff to get the Committee established, pupils are now taking a far greater role. Our new chairperson is Kara Manson (3E). Kerry Wood (5A) will represent the Committee on the Students’ Representative Council. If you have any issues that you would like the committee to consider please pass these on to Kara, Kerry or any other committee member.

The Environment Committee has had an interesting year. We have had several very well attended meetings for staff and pupils, were we have been able to discuss the issues that we feel are important to us and to the school.

We now have a notice board, located in the B1 corridor, just along from the SRC notice board. Several pupils are now taking responsibility for this, making sure it is up to date with our projects and interesting bits of information.

The school fundraising committee also kindly allocated us a stall at the Christmas Coffee Morning. As well as raising awareness of environmental issues associated with the festive sea son we also had a prize draw and gave away free “goodie bags”. A big thank you to the 3B PSE class who recycled the yellow PACE bags from earlier in the year. We filled these with energy efficient light bulbs and information, kindly given to us by Jonathan Emptage of

We were really happy to hear that the SIC will be expanding their domestic recycling to include plastic bottles and newspapers. The committee has just reached an arrangement with the SIC for plastic bottles to be uplifted from the school for recycling. This will involve the creation of “recycling stations” throughout the school. Watch this space!

Thanks to everyone for their support so far and watch the notice board in B1 and the school website for updates on these issues!

AHS Environment Committee - Mr K Turner


case studies; we ask them to reflect on the causes of bullying and the effect that it has on the victims; we also encourage discussion and ask their opinions on what would be the appropriate way of dealing with particular incidents.

Pupils are given frequent reminders that they must report any bullying. Pupil Support staff will then work with all those involved, first of all seeking to resolve any conflict that exists. Cases of bullying vary in their degree of complexity. Every effort is made to find a quick, effective solution but this is not always possible.

With more serious or persistent cases, the bully (or bullies) will be referred straight to the Year Group Head, who will decide on appropriate disciplinary action.

Each year we run a questionnaire with a large cross section of pupils. The results, when analysed, help to inform us of current trends, “blackspots” etc. Pupils and staff will also have access to

Bullying, and how to deal with it, has been very much in the headlines in recent times. Bullying is pervasive in our society and it would be naïve to expect schools to be free of this problem.

It is clear that bullying arises from a lack of respect for others. School policy clearly states that bullying behaviour is completely unacceptable.

Schools have a duty to have procedures in place that will discourage bullying, and to be able to respond in an effective way if bullying incidents do occur. The Pupil Support department is central to these antibullying measures, although all school staff have a responsibility to be vigilant and to respond appropriately if anything happens.

In PSE (Personal & Social Education) lessons we promote tolerance and understanding within the school and also in relation to the wider world. This includes a series of lessons on bullying, for example: we have pupils looking at

some of the information via staff meetings, assemblies and so on.

The 2007 questionnaire is designed to provide information on bullying that is carried out using electronic devices: internet chat rooms; text messages; camera phones etc. Problems that arise from this often originate in the home, then carry on into schools. Therefore it is a problem that both parents and teachers need to be aware of.

The website below has useful information for parents and carers, as well as for schools.

http://www.antibullying.net/

Responses to Bullying in AHS - Mr D McDonald, PT Pupil Support, Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator


ASN News Makaton Signing Classes

The ASN Department runs two sessions/week for adults in school and is in the process of setting up a weekly session for pupils. It’s a fun and useful session!

What is Makaton?

Makaton is a language programme using 1 Speech 2 Signs 3 Symbols

It has been shown to help adults and children who may have communication difficulties to develop their basic communication skills.

If you are interested to join in send Mandy an email : [email protected]

Up Helly Aa 2007

The ASN Department has been involved Up Helly Aa in a variety of ways this year.

We were invaded by Vikings when members of the Jarl Squad came to help celebrate Adam Keppie's 18th Birthday. His dad, John and brother, Ross were both in this year's Jarl Squad. Adam met the Jarl Squad with his own 'squad' complete with costumes. It was quite an experience for all concerned but particularly for Adam and his family.

Helen Burns

The ASN department has been involved with a number of interesting events over the last six months. Here is a taster of some of the things ASN pupils have been up too!

Drumming with Scalloway Pupils

Recently, many of our musicians enjoyed an afternoon of 'drumming' with Bobby Sutherland and Mitchell Cross S3 pupils from Scalloway Junior High School. These boys came to the Department to meet many of our music students here and to show them some of the drumming styles and skills they have learnt recently.

The event saw all participants learning how to hold drumsticks, keep a beat, put in a 'fill' and have a go on an electronic drum kit as well as on the traditional set!!

A great time was enjoyed by all. Now all we need to do is keep on practising those skills and 'boogie to the beat!!' XFactor here we come!!

Hilary Conabeer

Interested in an Alternative Universe?

If any young people you know spend time in a fantasy world this may be the result of them playing role playing games such as Warhammer, Traveller or Dungeons and Dragons. A small but growing gaming fraternity harness their imaginations to help their invented characters cooperate towards achieving common goals such as stealing star ships and slaying the occasional orc.

Role playing games appear to build social confidence and are a lot of fun. Pupils say it helps them to get on better with each other and they enjoy helping to create a story. If you are interested in entering an alternative universe, contact Peter Hamilton, ASN teacher.


ASN News (continued) Beanfeasts

Once again, pupils from the ASN department attended the annual Anderson High School Beanfeasts along with their year group. Staff from the department also attended to help pupils make the most of the evening and join in with all of the festive fun. In fact, some might say that the staff had just as much fun as the pupils! Everyone seemed to have a fabu lous time and the evenings were so successful that the pu pils cannot wait until their next Beanfeast.

Bag Packing

We all took part in raising money for the Department by bag packing in Somerfields. It was a great but tiring day! Alana Groat and Adam Keppie were friendly ‘greeters’ at the door with everyone else helping people at the checkouts. We raised £380 which we think was brilliant for a miserable wet Monday!

Janette Morrison

S1/2 pupils from the ASN department formed their squad School of Horror for the Junior Up Helly Aa procession. The squad members were John Arthur, Calum Risk, Sean Gilfillan and Andrew Goodlad. The all thoroughly enjoyed their experience despite the weather.

The ASN department was also fortunate to get a visit from the Nesting Guizer Jarl and his squad on their big day.

One of the squad members, Calum Risk is pictured here with his classmates during the visit.

David Smith

Work Experience Placements

Work experience is an invaluable aspect of our S5/6 pupil’s curriculum and pupils are currently involved in a total of 14 work experience placements in 11 establishments throughout the town and in one island setting. Placements include offices, leisure centres, sheltered employment, a care centre, a supermarket and nursery settings. One student is also involved in SVQ 2 Business and Administration course at Shetland College. The skills learned on this course are being transferred into the two office work placements that she is doing.

We have to thank all employers, auxiliaries and Work Experience Coordinator at Train Shetland for making these placements worthwhile for the students.

Mary Sinclair

Sean Robertson, Aiden Ward and Christopher Sinclair at the S3/4 Beanfeast

19 speaking in dialect. She played Meg in “God Rest his Sowel II” performed by Brenna Players, a Shetland comedy which left the audience in stitches. Anyone wishing to join the AHS Drama Club, new members are always welcome.

The curtains opened to fierce storm and a ship struggling to battle against the raging waves. This scene may sound like a normal day for Shetland, but it was in fact the Anderson High School after school Drama Club’s production of “The

Tempest” by William Shakespeare. The play was originally meant to be performed just for the Shakespeare Schools Festival, but our director, Izzy Swanson, decided to take it to the Drama Festival too. We thought we were in the non competitive section, but something got mixed up and Izzy told us on the night that we were actually competing! This didn’t help our nerves any, but we did our best anyway. The play went really well, and each and every one of the cast really gave it their all. We were all really pleased with ourselves, and the adjudicator Ron Nicol seemed to enjoy it too. He didn’t have anything bad to say and to top it all, the AHS picked up the Erling Vidlin cup for most meritorious.

We were all really pleased. Ellen Smith, 3 rd Year from the group also picked up the Williamson trophy for best player under 19 years not speaking in dialect. Even though she wasn’t involved with the AHS, Lisa Johnson in 6 th Year picked up the J Robertson Memorial for the best player under

AHS at the Drama Festival - Ellen Smith 3B

Talking to pupils at this point there is often a strong desire to stay on. To help them in this choice we try to give indications of what they can aim for in S5. We are able from national statistics to give very accurate predictions from Standard Grade results as to what pupils are likely to achieve in S5. While these guidelines give indications as to what the outcomes might be, the pupil’s personal motivation is probably the most important factor in achieving success. If a pupil has found it hard to engage fully with school and commit to the demands of homework in the first 4 years of secondary education this is unlikely to change in S5.

The motivation factor is the same for all pupils, those who are staying in the same building to continue in S5 and those who are attending the Anderson High for the first time. The change is so great from S4 to S5 that in effect all pu pils, regardless of geography, enter a new school. Those who enter a new building, often realise this first and despite the turmoil of leaving home during the week or daily travel, often adjust to the demands of S5 sooner than their new classmates. The unavoidable fact for all pupils who come

back for S5 remains, that it will be the hardest year they have in school and to succeed you must be fully committed to work well beyond the classroom.

Transition Arrangements for S5:

January Mr P Moncrieff, Year Group Head S5/6, and link Pupil Support teacher visit each Junior High School to discuss choices.

March • All pupils thinking of transferring attend an open day at Anderson High School and visit Hostel.

• Some Class 6 pupils return to their old Junior High to give a pupils view of transition.

• Pupil Support and Hostel staff go to Junior High to complete option choices.

June 4 th Parents Evening for new S5

parents at 6.30 pm. 5 th Induction Day for all new S5. 6 th Timetable starts.

One of the biggest challenges facing pupils in all schools comes at the end of S4. The transition from S4 into the next form of education is complex. The government has an aim to keep all pupils in some form of education or training until they are 18. For many this will be in the form of returning to school for S5, but this is often not the best option for many pupils. College, skill seekers and modern apprenticeships also offer valuable, alternative forms of education. Often these more vocational educational routes are not valued as highly, as the perception of academic subjects is still wrongly seen by many as the better option.

As part of transition arrangements to S5 for pupils, both at Anderson High and in our associated Junior High Schools, Pupil Support staff and myself visit all schools and classes before their prelims in January. The talks which are the same regardless of location discuss the alternatives after S4. Pupils also receive talks from the colleges and other training providers. The aim of these talks is to make sure they are aware of all the opportunities and that the decision to return to school is taken for positive practical reasons.

Transition to Post 16 Education - Mr P Moncrieff


AHS after school Drama Club

A Curriculum for Excellence (ACfE) is the current major initiative in Scottish Education and follows on from a comprehensive review of the curriculum in Scottish schools in 2004. This was commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) and the ensuing developments incorporated in ACfE have input from all the main players in the Scottish Education system including Learning & Teaching Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

The results of the curriculum review suggested that the curriculum needed to:

1 be rationalised and harmonised from preschool education right through to the senior secondary stage;

2 provide for more enjoyable learning through a broadening of the range of learning experiences;

3 offer greater personalisation and choice;

4 reduce the amount of formal assessments and introduce more varied ways of measuring and recognising achievement.

In response to these needs the National Review Group identified the main purposes of education as being to enable all young people to become:

1 responsible citizens 2 effective contributors 3 successful learners 4 confident individuals

These four capacities will shape the future curriculum in Scottish schools and the AHS is already structuring its learning and teaching strategies around them. The implementation of ACfE will be an evolutionary process and will provide a way of unifying the curriculum and recognition of pupil achievement right through from preschool to the senior secondary years (S46) with much more flexibility in when individuals will take exams and with a greater emphasis on Vocational Education.

The new curriculum will be delivered through eight curricular areas using a variety of learning and teaching strategies and structures, including much more emphasis on assessment being used to support learning and on learning through experience. The central importance of literacy and numeracy will remain and health and wellbeing will assume a greater curricular significance. The eight curricular areas will be:

1 health & wellbeing 2 languages 3 mathematics 4 sciences 5 social subjects 6 expressive arts 7 technologies 8 religious & moral education

The national timescale for implementing the biggest curriculum reform since Standard Grades replaced ‘O’ grades in the 1980’s is outlined by the Scottish Executive Education Department as follows:

200708: year of engagement when relevant draft guidelines will be issued for consultation and finalised.

200809: year of preparation for putting finalised structures in place and considering any necessary changes to the nat ional exam inat ion and qualification framework.

200910: year of adoption when detailed work will be done on any requisite review/change to courses and assessments pertaining to national examinations and certification.

201011: from this session onwards revised structures and courses will begin to be implemented.

It should be stressed that the above is both a draft and provisional and may change.

It is worth noting at this stage that a number of initiatives currently underway puts the AHS in a good position for the gradual implementation of ACfE and that this has been recognised at national level. These include curricular and ICT innovation in S12 through the School of Ambition project, continuing participation in the Vocational Pathways initiative in S34 and ongoing developments within the context of the national initiative Assessment is for Learning.

A Curriculum for Excellence - Mr J Cameron


Club XL - by Lori Johnson 3D

Day. Each person went to two work shops. Some of the workshops there were DJ skills, Music Production, Graffiti Art, Street Dance and Special Effects. After the workshops the group received a tour of Hampden stadium.

The group leader of the Braehead Club XL group gave the Anderson High group a little tour of Glasgow before dropping them at Xcape which is a centre where the group had a meal and went on a 15m high assault course and a climbing wall.

The group left for Aberdeen early on Thursday morning by train then spent the day there before catching the boat. Everyone really enjoyed the trip and would like to do something next year.

Club XL travelled down to Glasgow for the Princes Trust Club XL Celebration Day. Unfortunately the boat was cancelled on Monday night so the group had to catch the first flight down to Edinburgh then catch a train through to Glasgow. The group stayed in a Travelodge.

The group met up with another Club XL from Barrhead High School in Glasgow. The group took them for a look around their school and they talked to the pupils. The two groups met up at night and went gokarting, which everybody enjoyed.

The Celebration Day was held at Hampden Park. XL groups from all over Scotland attended the Celebration

Comments from the members: ‘I really enjoyed it’, ‘It was good fun meeting the other Club XL group’, ‘It was good seeing new places, working as a team and having fun’, ‘I know our group better and I feel more confident’.

The two XL groups at Hampden

The past few months have been an exciting period in the development of the Anderson High School: School of Ambition programme. In Sharing Perspectives new year has brought New York to mind for an S1 class taking part in a pilot project. During the first term of this session all S1 classes took part in Sharing Perspectives To see ourselves as others see us with partner class groups from each of AHS’s global partner schools. One class – 1C – continued sharing information, work and material with their partner class

i n N a r a W om en ’ s Universi ty Secondary School throughout the second term. New year began with work prepared by students of Cadwalader Junior High in New Jersey on how they see Shetland and Scotland and a request to 1C to share how they see New Jersey. A journey to New Jersey with a visit to Manhattan in 3D on Google Earth with a journey across the North Atlantic to Shetland Islands highl ighted how the Shetland island of Yell is not dissimilar to Manhattan. This led to the idea of researching how people

came to live on both islands, why and how people live in both islands and what Manhattan would look like as Yell and vice versa.

It inspired the possibility of the class visiting Yell – and then Manhattan. Class 1C from AHS and S1 class from Mid Yell Junior High School will visit Manhattan at the end of March 2007.

During the summer term S2 students will study the theme What is food? They will study the scientific, creative and practical nature of food. This will be studied across and between Science, Art & Design and Home Economics courses. The work aims to develop the capacities of a Curriculum for Excellence.

The AHS: SoA Enterprise Education team of students in partnership with the Shetland Recreational Trust and sponsored by the Shetland Development Trust is aimed at developing ideas for marketing Shetland and its recreational facilities to young people from outside Shetland. The goal is to be attained by a team of nine S6 students with the support of thirteen S4 students and teams in partner schools (Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden).

The project started in November 2006 with a series of introductory lectures on marketing, market research and tourism. From December 2006 until present time the teams have been working on the research stage of the project, developing research methodology and conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, as well as gathering factual information on local and international level. Upon the completion of the research teams will work on developing marketing ideas, in local and international settings, that will be followed by selection and implementation of the best ideas.

School of Ambition - Nashid Cassiem



In addition to this, participants would also have to prepare a poster/banner demonstrating aspects that best describe/ represent their community.

This year’s topic is Responsibility and it will be divided into:

1 Ecological responsibility 2 Responsibility in school 3 Social responsibility

Succeeding the 20052006 Images of Britain project another images project was launched. The Images of Europe project involves a group of 10 students across age and stage from AHS and all the European schools in the Global Classroom Partnership – in Czech Republic, Sweden and Germany. Another School of Ambition, Hawick High School in the Scottish Borders is also involved.

For the AHS SoA Images of Europe team it has been an exciting few months with the completion of two of the three main themes – Images of Age and EcoImages and after launching a successful Images of Seasons competition in order to involve more students throughout the school. After the Easter break the international groups will focus on the last theme – Images of Communication. Their work can be seen under Shared Images on the AHS: SoA website: www.schoolofambition.org

The next phase of this project gives participants the opportunity to visit partner schools, in both Scotland and Europe.

School of Ambition (Continued) The second enterprise project, the International Enterprise and Development group have completed their work with COPE Ltd in both Shetland and Czech Republic at the end of January 2007. Led by a graduate trainee a group of five senior students from partner schools in Czech Republic, South Africa, Sweden and the United States of America worked in partnership with COPE Ltd and Slunecnice (COPE Ltd’s Czech equivalent) to establish a small soap company in Zlín Czech Republic.

The Group are currently working in Cape Town, South Africa at: 1 Eerste River Hospital with groups of patients in need

of longerterm attention, including mothers who give birth to underweight babies and young students who volunteer to be peercouncillors to local youngsters on drugs or suffering from depression;

2 St Georges Home for Girls with girls up to 18 years old that have been removed from their families by the courts; the work involves providing support that other children would usually get from their parents;

3 Red Cross Children’s Hospital assisting children patients as well as helping in other areas such as tidying, delivering things etc.

For the past ten years senior students from AHS and its international partner schools in Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Sweden meet for a tenday conference hosted by a partner school. This year Graf Friedrich Schule in Germany will host the eleventh Global Classroom Conference. In the course of the months leading up to the conference participants are required to research various topics in their own community and prepare a presentation at the GCC.

6 Free Fruit Day special thanks to Somerfield, J W Grays, and Knowles for their donations;

7 Pupil message display area an electronic notice board in the pipeline.

I have felt it a privilege to be an elected member of the SRC this year, but even more so to be Chairperson of the SRC. Following in both my brother and sister’s footsteps, who were Chairperson in 2000/01 and 2002/2003 respectively, I have been given the opportunity to take the SRC forward. We all feel that by working with the whole school on the issue of chocolate, we have galvanised the school and raised the profile of the SRC. I hope that the appreciation and profile of the SRC continues to grow within the school. Finally, I would like to thank all SRC members for their hard work, teachers who have helped us throughout the year, Mrs Reid and Mr Clubb, the office staff for all their help and of course the pupils – who without them there would be no SRC.

Remember it’s your voice, so use it!

In September the election of SRC members took place, which was shortly followed by the first AHS SRC Induction Day held at Voxter House. At Voxter Mr Clubb and Mrs Reid (SRC link teachers) had us playing lots of team building games and fun getting to know each other activities. Time was also spent discussing the role of the SRC and previous SRC business. The induction allowed for all S1 to S6 pupils to mix and make friends so that when we had the first SRC meeting no one was too shy to express their opinion. Ms Nicolson attended the meeting and reinforced the importance of the SRC within the AHS.

The SRC held a surgery to gather the views of the pupils in the school and one of the main issues raised was the fact that chocolate had been banned from the tuckshop with no pupil consultation as part of an authority led initiative on healthy eating. The SRC realise the importance of eating healthily but do not feel that banning certain foods is health promotion. The SRC organised a petition, contacted Tavish Scott (MSP) and Helen Budge (Head of Schools) and are now looking into a whole school approach on creating a healthy tuckshop. The next steps involved include:

1 Liaison with other authorities and pupil councils to find out how they set up healthy tuckshops;

2 Liaison with dieticians and the AHS SNAG group on the nutritional analysis of common foodstuffs and snack allowances;

3 Send out a questionnaire to all pupils in the school listing healthy foods that could be sold in the tuckshop so the most popular choices can be sold;

4 Another meeting with Helen Budge to discuss action points after the Easter Holidays.

Other successes of the SRC this session include:

1 Moving the bus pick up point for South Mainland pupils; 2 Discussions on how to promote the SRC achievements; 3 Helping at the School Christmas Coffee Morning; 4 New clocks for the S5 area; 5 Organising a teachers verses pupils Dodge Ball match

to raise money for Comic Relief;

Student Representative Council Update 2007-2008 - John West 6H, Chairperson

The school continues to run the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme for pupils in S3 and above. The scheme involves young people gaining recognition for their commitment to different activities. These include learning a new skill, undertaking an activity that benefits the wider community and taking part in a sport. As well as this members of the group plan, train for, then undertake an expedition in Shetland.

Members can work towards a full Duke of Edinburgh Award or gain a partial award to recognise the activities they have shown a commitment to. It’s also a great opportunity to get to know new friends from other year groups. Some of our current members are also working towards Millennium Volunteer awards through Volunteer Centre Shetland.

Regular meetings take place in C3.9 on Tuesdays at lunchtimes. Speak to Mr Turner or Mr Dorrat for more information.

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme - Mr K Turner


John, David and Jenny West, all have been Chairperson for SRC

We’re on the web:

ahs@shetland. gov.uk

HMIE, Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (Scotland), launched their new report ICT in learning and teaching on Friday 16th March 2007.

During a recent visit to the Anderson High School, Senior Chief Inspector Graham Donaldson was impressed by the extent to which ICT was being used imaginatively and in exciting ways. He felt it only appropriate that this report should be launched in partnership with the school, and made available through the school website at http://www.anderson.shetland.sch.uk/hmieict07/

Providing to the HMIE report, the website also contains examples of the use of ICT in learning and teaching at the Anderson High School. These examples come from various departments in the school, and demonstrate the enthusiasm with which teachers use new technologies both inside and outside the classroom.

As well as interviews for the Times Educational Supplement, Shetland Times and Radio Shetland, the launch of this report has brought national attention to the Anderson High School, recognising the hard work of staff.

One of the main areas praised in the national press was the “School of Ambition” project, led by Mr Stewart Hay. The Times Educational Supplement of 16.3.07 highlighted the “School of Ambition” on its front page, with features inside on our international links, and the work of the Biology department in particular.

School Inspectors Launch Report at the AHS - Mr P Thoresen

New music club run by the new school folk band “Tunester”.

Meeting fortnightly from October to May.

Meetings include sessions, information on local events and music clubs, youth sessions as well as invited local guest artistes.

Check not ice boards for information, listen out for tannoy announcements or ask at the Music department for information.

“Tunester” Music Club - Mrs M Scollay


Interactive whiteboards allow students to demonstrate their understanding of tiling to the rest of the class

A computer and a video camera allow a student’s performance in PE to be reviewed immediately.


Arts and Crafts activity

Leanna Smith receives her prize

Harrison Arcus and Liam Nicol get their prizes at the draw

World Book Day

The library celebrated World Book Day 2007 by providing all pupils who wanted one with a special £1 book token. A 'Where's Wally' hunt was the most popular competition, with lots of pupils roaming the library trying to spot all ten of the tiny Wally characters hiding around the library. We also had a word search and quiz, and the prize draw for all three took place in a lively a t m o s p h e r e a t l u n c h t i m e . Congratulations to all the winners. More competitions will be taking place soon.

Lunchtime Activities

The library is open at lunchtimes on Tuesdays to Fridays, for games, chatterbooks, arts and crafts and homework. Arts and crafts is currently the most popular, as you can see in the photo which shows us making candle holders.

Young Scot Competition

Young Scot cards are library cards, and using them in the library to take out books means you can be entered into a prize draw each month. The winner receives a £10 voucher for Clive's.

Library News - Mrs L Smales

Also in December for the first time, the National Youth Choir of Scotland held auditions up here. These were conducted by the Choir Director Christopher Bell; 4 members of the Junior Choir auditioned, and 2 from the Seniors. The results of the Senior auditions are due at the end of March, so Cara McDiarmid and Jacqueline Casey will be watching the post every day! All the Juniors Lindsay Manson, Sophie Chapman, Mary Haviland and Nairi Gallant sang well, and we were all really pleased when Mary received a letter saying she had been accepted into the National 13 15 Girls' Choir. She will be going to Edinburgh for a

The Junior Choir and the Senior Vocal Group have been meet i ng r e g u l a r l y o n Thursday lunch times and after s c h o o l o n Mondays, and have learnt a good handful of varied repertoire. The

Seniors performed in front of nearly 300 teachers at the November Inservice, and also for the Chief Inspector for Scottish Schools when he came to visit in December.

week's intensive rehearsals in the Easter holidays, and performing at the final concert on April 15th at the Queen's Hall. Well done Mary!

Both choirs are joining together with Neil Morris's 'Reeds' group to give a concert on May 2nd in aid of the AHS branch of Amnesty International. This will be in Studio 2 of the Music Department, and we are reliably informed by Terry that once the steel pans are removed, there will be room for 70 80 chairs so please put it in your diaries and come along and support us!

Singing Matters - Mrs D Hayward

Anna Gaffney, Bryony Harvey, Alwyn F l aws and M i c hae l Fa rm er , accompanied by Principal Teacher of Modern Studies Stuart Clubb and Tanya Odie from the School Library, went to Glasgow in November. This allowed us to use the facilities at the Glasgow Caledonian University's department of Criminology. The main purpose of the trip was to research and gain information for our 5000 word dissertations on a topic related to law and order. The dissertations are a major part of the Advanced Higher course.

We left Shetland on a Wednesday evening and caught a train to Glasgow the next morning. In the afternoon we went straight to the University and attended a tutorial with Kate Figg, a lecturer in study skills. The focus was on how to learn effectively and part of this was to assess what type of learner we are.

We also attended a criminology lecture by Hazel Croall, senior lecturer and author in criminology. This gave us an opportunity to make notes and raised issues about crime and deviance in the UK.

The fol lowing day we had a seminar. For this we worked in groups, discussing how serious we believed different types of crime were and the media's influence on perceptions of crime. We also had the chance to meet with a fourth year criminology student who gave us guidance on our dissertations. After that we spent most

of the time in the Saltire Centre, the University's new Learning Centre. We collected lots of research on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning whilst having lots of fun with the moving shelves and beanbags!

Then it was time for some light relaxation. Anna, Bryony, Alwyn and Michael embarked on the tube to Ibrox where we watched Rangers beating Dunfermline by 2 goals to nil.

The Modern Studies trip was not only great fun but benefited our dissertations hugely. It allowed us access to information that we could not have got

otherwise and the discussions with lecturers gave us new insight into our topics as well as providing us with an insight into University life. This trip has proved very valuable as dissertation deadlines draw nearer and we get ready to head off to University in September.

Advanced Higher Modern Studies Trip - S6 Pupils


Why not visit our website at www.anderson.shetland.sch.uk

Items include: • calendar items • guestbook • news archive • newsletters • photograph gallery • School Board minutes • school information • Student Council • web links • daily weather forecast

Whats on our Website?

In August 2006, at a gathering of future captains of industry, a plan for world domination was hatched. All they would need was a bit of money, some bags and a lot of imagination. Just a few short months and a lot of blood, sweat and tears later, the Baggy Drawers Young Enterprise Company look set to achieve their ambition.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the inevitable difficulties, I’m immensely proud of what they’ve achieved. They started, as they all start, with no money and only a few sketchy ideas about how

to make some. Once the Premium Bonds plan was disposed of and the idea of novelty plates was put firmly on the shelf marked ‘You Have To Be Kidding’, I lost all fear that this was all going to go horribly wrong. They settled on novelty bags and a DVD of the Senior Beanfeast, both of which are excel lent products and should guarantee a healthy profit. They’ve made and sold tons of bags. They even managed to sell some to a corporate customer. The DVD is genuinely first class a very professional job. No home is complete without one.

Above all, though, I’m most proud of the way they’ve stuck at it through thick and thin. They were always a big group and they’ve done well to get through the programme intact. Working together is not easy and they won’t mind me saying that BD is a company of strong personalities, who brought some very different skills and interests to the table. Nonetheless, they got on with the job and the end result is successful and impressive. I have every confidence in them for the final. Roll on Scalloway!

Another Year, Another Set of Budding Tycoons - Mr R Lindsay, Young Enterprise Link Teacher

same distance in the same time. With these measurements runners can compare their own progress over time. We have also found it very interesting to compare each others heart rates at various points throughout the run. The only problem is that John is now on a mission to find out how high Mrs Simpson's heart rate can go this could all end in tears!

The Running Club have recently acquired 5 new Timex Heart Rate monitors with money from the School Fund and Active Schools. These monitors allow us to measure our average heart rate, maximum heart rate and minimum heart rate during the time spent running. The runner can then note these measurements down if they wish.

Regular exercise should reduce the average heart rate readings over the

Monitoring Progress with the Running Club - Mrs C Simpson



The PE department has just recently acquired new software called Dartfish, which will take performance analysis to another level. The software contains a large number of features, which will greatly enhance the learning, and teaching of pupils in PE.

Having only had the software for a few months it has already had an impact on certificate lessons with Standard Grade and Higher Grade pupils assessing their own performance through a feature called “Live Delay” which continually films pupils while displaying the

performance of others on a continual loop. The replay of performance can be delayed up to 30 seconds later, which gives pupils time to get to the computer to watch their performance.

Pupils can also be compared to a model performance of any skill, which can be played at the same time as their performance. Performances can be over lapped to show part i cular weaknesses to performance.

Media booklets can also be made up which feature short clips of action which

can then be put into slides and analysed in more detail. This is particularly useful for Standard Grade Evaluating and could be used for homework tasks.

On a personal level, Dartfish has been extremely motivational and has fired my imagination for expanding its use. Dartfish has also been a catalyst for developing a wider interest in ICT in PE and the software is central to my vision of developing this area within PE.

Video Analysis in PE - Mr K Smith

Above: A media booklet that can be made up from a video clip to show key positions of a performance.

Above: A photo of still images that shows a performance frame by frame.

Below: Connor Wood S2 analysing his performance in a hockey class.

When dropping off or picking up pupils, please do not drive up to the front door of the school. Please use the turning circle off Lovers Loan, or go somewhere else around the school site. The front door is used by up to 1000 people each day, with disabled access and goods deliveries relying on clear access.

Pupil Safety and Cars

Another popular activity has been Basketball and it was decided to try a league for 1 st & 2 nd years. This is ongoing at the moment with 12 teams playing in two roundrobin leagues. All the teams are mixed with two boys and two girls in each. Some unusual names have been chosen, such as ‘mmm Cheese’ and ‘Heshamonies’ ‘Chubby People’ and ‘Chimney Sweeps’. There is still a way to go with this and once everybody has played everybody in his or her league

Lunchtime activities have continued to attract a good number of pupils.

This term football has continued to get the support of boys in the different year groups and will be ongoing for the rest of this term and also next term.

A new activity introduced for the last six weeks of this term is squash. This again has attracted large numbers with 24 pupils on 3 courts.

there will be crossover ties to find the winning team.

Next term I hope to introduce a Rackethon. This is a competition that involves all participants playing 1 game each of table tennis, badminton and short tennis to 15pts. Points for each are added together to find the eventual winner. It is hoped to have competitions for boys and girls and also if the numbers are good enough for each individual year group. Information on this will be coming out at the start of next term.

Lunchtime Activities - Mrs H Hogg


A photo of the successful Anderson High School Netball Team, who played a Scottish Schools Netball Tie last Wednes day in the Anderson High School.

The Johnstone High School travelled north last week to take on the AHS for a place in the quarter finals of the open section of the Scottish Schools Netball Competition. The AHS were promoted to the A section after winning the B section at Lynwood last year. Johnstone High School were the winners of the A competition two years ago so our girls were up against it.

The game started with both teams evenly matched the quarter time score was 77, but as the game progressed, the AHS slowly gained in confidence and slowly started to pull ahead. With a full time score of 4736 to Shetland, the team are now waiting to see who they will come up against in the quarter finals.

Netball Competition - Mrs H Hogg

The innovation this year was the use of leather balls. The standard of play was good and the transition to the new ball was pretty much seamless with a lot more control being shown, especially in passing the serve and digging.

The two teams representing AHS and Brae High contested the semifinals with the AHS winning both and advancing through to the final.

The annual secondary school vol leybal l tournament was held on Tuesday at Scalloway Junior High School.

Twelve teams representing six schools took part and the teams were split into two groups of six.

The final saw AHS II get off to a great start and this provided them with a cushion later in the game as AHS I fought back. However, AHSII held on to win a very good game 2521.

Scalloway PE teacher Mhairi McNicol presented the Cee & Jays Trophy to Lewis King, captain of AHS II.

Volleyball Tournament - Mr K Smith

Anderson High School Lover’s Loan Lerwick SHETLAND ZE1 0JH Phone: 01595 692306 Fax: 01595 695688 Email: [email protected] Website: www.anderson.shetland.sch.uk

Nine young athletes representing Anderson High School and Baltasound Junior High School headed south on the MV Hjaltland last week to take part in a weekend of Cross Country running. The first event was the Scottish Secondary Schools Championships, held at the Beach Park, Irvine. The second event was the third event of the Running Shop "Round the Castle" series, held at the House of Dun near Montrose.

The wind was blowing off the Firth of Clyde as the 1415 girls team went to the line in their 3000m race. Katie Bristow, Emma Leask, SophieMay Leyland and Inga Woods set off at a good pace and were in pretty good shape after the first medium loop. Inga had taken a bit of a kick in the achilles but worked through the pain to support Katie and Emma who were right up in the leading pack. Sophie May, who was drafted in late on, worked her way steadily round the course and did exactly what was asked of her. At the line Katie finished an excellent 11th in 13:06, Emma was 13th just 3 seconds behind. Inga was 34th in 14:20 and Sophie May 88th. With a team total of 146 points the girls were in with a chance of a team medal. When the results were posted they were delighted to be in silver medal position, just 6 points behind winners Hutchesons Grammar from Glasgow.

Next to run was Bobby Bristow of AHS. His 4000m race covered 2 full laps of the course. Bobby set off at a good pace and like the girls was up in the leading pack. At the halfway mark he

had consolidated his position and was pushing hard. Despite a push right at the end for a top ten place he finished in a fantastic 13th position in 16:15.

Sadie Younger was next on course, running in the 1517 category. She ran a good solid race against some particularly talented runners and finished a credible 44th in 19:36 out of a field of 110.

Joshua Morrison and Tom Moncrieff competed in the 1517 Boys race over 5000m. In a very competitive race Joshua showed he could mix it with the best and stormed home in 4th place in 18:44, thus gaining selection for the Scottish team to compete in the Schools International in Dublin later on this month. Tom finished an excellent 46th in 20:49 running well in this category against a lot of much older competitors.

This was an excellent days racing from all involved. Special mention was made for the furthest travelled schools as the 1415 Girls received their silver medals from Geoff Wightman, Chief Executive of Scottish Athletics.

The athletes headed north from their Grangemouth base to Montrose for the second days racing. The age groups were slightly different and Katie was first to run, this time over 2 miles in the Under 13 race. Her strong run took 3rd place in 12:26.

Next up were Emma, Inga and Sadie in the Under 15 Girls race, again over 2 miles. Emma took third in 12:30, Inga 9th in 13:23 and Sadie 13th in 13:42.

This series of results was good enough for another team silver!

Claire Wilson met up with the group and competed in the Senior Women's race. Claire eased her way to victory in 24:07, 48 seconds clear of the next runner.

Bobby and Tom were back in more familiar territory running at Under 15 and Bobby was second in 23:21 with a strong run as Tom followed him home in 3rd just 5 seconds behind.

Joshua followed up his outstanding performance the day before with another great run to finish 2nd, despite carrying a foot injury.

This was a superb weekend of running with loads of gutsy performances and a few medals into the bargain. Credit has to go to coach Ian Williamson who has worked diligently with the group all winter and their success is a result of this hard work.

Athletics - Mr P Woods


Shetland athletes with their spoils after a successful raid on the mainland!

Senior Beanfeast 2006 Photos by John Coutts

ahs newsletter 29

Documents

school disco

barrhead high school

aftera shakystart

events somemorableforall

whoworked hard tomake

cancelled boat