Winter 2015 Ayrshire’s only Independent School Founded 1836

Wellington School has been named UK Fundraiser of the Year in recognition of the £31,000 raised by the school in 2013/14 for Hand on Heart, the charity which works to put defibrillators in schools throughout the country. Wellington was nominated in the categories of UK Educational Establishment of the Year and UK Fundraiser of the Year for the national UK Heart Safe Awards ceremony which took place on 9 October 2015 in Manchester.

the turretWELLINGTON SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER

The event welcomed 300 attendees to recognise individual life-savers as well as organisations and employers who invest in creating heart safe environments across the UK. Wellington was represented at the awards ceremony by Mr McColgan; Mrs McMahon; current Head Boy, Patrick Smith; current Head Girl, Naomi Hunter; Wellington’s 2013/14 Head Boy, Andrew Kerr; and 2013/14 Depute Head Girl, Rebekah Gavin.

Receiving the Fundraiser of the Year Award

Charity names Wellington Fundraiser of the Year

more on centre pages

Wellington School pupils performed in the school’s annual show at Ayr’s Gaiety Theatre in October. This year’s production was Chess, an 80’s Cold War classic with a complex and energetic score by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, of ABBA fame, and a script by Tim Rice.The display of talent was incredible and, for those watching the show, it was hard to believe that the cast were only school children.

Chess THE MUSICAL

26 pupils achieved ‘A’ grades in all of their SQA exams this summer. In S5 alone, 11 pupils obtained five or more ‘A’ grades, which is an exceptional achievement. Headmaster, Mr Simon Johnson, praised the efforts of everybody in the Wellington community, saying: “Results of this calibre are not achieved without a great deal of hard work, energy and commitment. These are qualities that pupils and teachers here demonstrate every day, both in the classroom and in the many other activities that they are involved with.”

Outstanding SQA results

Some of the successful pupils

The new Advanced Higher requires the completion of unit assessments, submission of a Folio, comprising a geographical study and a geographical issues essay, as well as having an external examination. This year the Advanced Higher students at Wellington School joined the students of High School of Glasgow and St Columba’s at Kindrogan Field Centre where staff from the three schools worked collegiately to design field work tasks to give students the opportunity to pass learning outcomes within the ‘skills’ unit assessment while at Kindrogan. All students performed extremely well in the field in typically wet field work conditions, achieving six out of ten learning outcomes that make up the UA. While at Kindrogan students had the opportunity to add to their repertoire of field skills by collecting data to investigate the differences in micro climate between grassland and woodland areas, investigating how soil characteristics change along a soil catena and completing a survey which investigated drainage basin characteristics between coniferous and deciduous forest areas. These studies not only build on their knowledge of data collection but also enhance presentation techniques and data analysis through statistics when testing for scientific significance of emerging patterns between data sets. All skills are later examined through folio work worth 66% and then in the external examination. The advanced higher students are now focussing their efforts on their folio. Their geographical studies include ‘an investigation into changing environmental conditions with aspect’, ‘urban changes with distance from Edinburgh’s CBD’, ‘an urban investigation into pollution, living space and crime in Glasgow’ and a river study ‘examining the changing variables of a river with distance from the source’.

Geography Michaelmas 2015Their geographical issues include discussing ‘the advantages and disadvantages of off shore wind farms’, ‘the environmental impacts of the T in the Park music festival on the landscape’, ‘migration and its impact on the Scottish population’ and ‘the impact of the camping bye law on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond’. As part of the new higher pupils enjoyed a physical field day examining the relationships between channel variables and processes within a fluvial environment. Mrs Shaw assisted in enabling two groups of students to gather data over six sites at regular intervals with distance from the source. This allowed 12 sets of data to be analysed. Variables such as river width, depth and velocity allowed cross-sectional area and discharge to be calculated, while measuring wetted perimeter then allowed students to calculate hydraulic radius. Students also sampled pebble size and roundness at all sites. In preparation for their assessment assignment Students have been taught how to write a detailed methodology and evaluate the techniques that they used. Since the excursion they have been processing and analysing their data to either prove or disprove their hypotheses. To fulfil the human element of their field work, the Higher and Advanced Higher students completed an urban land use survey, on a blank Goad map of Ayr, to illustrate the changes in land use with distance from the CBD. Students used RICEPOT categories to complete their maps, recorded building height, completed a bi-polar survey on environmental quality, pedestrian counts and a ‘living streets’ survey. This experience can be written up to fulfil a learning outcome for the ‘skills’ unit assessment of the new Advanced Higher course and also fulfils four learning outcomes for the higher students in the

human environments unit assessment. Our National 5 students have also been busy working towards their assessment assignment worth 25% of their overall mark. It was a pleasure to take our National 5 students to Loch Lomond over two days, ably assisted by Mrs Gilli-ann MacKenzie from Outdoor Nursery and Ms Nina Klussmann from the Modern Languages department. This trip is now in its second year having proved to be a very successful component of last year’s National 5. Our S4 students investigated the impact of tourism on an upland glaciated environment. Before the field trip they were taught how to plan a geographical study from conception to realisation looking at different gathering techniques, presentation methods and methods of analysis. This enabled them to gather their own data and to start their own Controlled Assessment Investigations based on the hypothesis that they chose to study. A full day was spent gathering their own primary data (which included measuring footpath erosion, trample zones, vegetation cover, carrying out environmental quality surveys, traffic surveys, tax disc surveys, pedestrian counts and questionnaires) before returning to school to commence their write up. Once again we are planning to complete an urban field day in Glasgow in December with our S4 students to learn about our case study of a developed world city (Glasgow) in the field. Following a busy term of essential field work and assessment assignment preparation and folio work, Mrs Shaw and I are very much looking forward to our geography excursion to Iceland in March, with thirty S3-S5 students, particularly our visit to the Blue Lagoon! I would like to thank all staff involved in assisting with our trips this term and extend a very big thank you!

Debaters enjoy SuccessThe ESU Junior competition was held in Ayr in early December whilst in Glasgow a team took part in the Law Society Donald Dewar Memorial Debate the same night. The ESU Junior competition was held at Wellington School with the Wellington teams of Emily Henry and Meera Mohankrishnan together with Anubha Bal and Abigail Kirkwood both winning a place in the second round. They were debating against Marr College and Belmont Academy. Meanwhile, Jacqui Gibson and William McMahon travelled to Glasgow to take part in the Law Society Donald Dewar Memorial Debate where they too won a place in the second round, beating teams from Holyrood Secondary and Woodfarm High School.

During November, there was a clean sweep for Wellington teams at the Rotary ‘Youth Speaks’ competition when both the Intermediate and Senior Debating Teams won a place in the Regional Finals, beating teams from Kyle, Belmont and Queen Margaret. The event took place at Belmont Academy.The Intermediate team of Isla Novak, Sophie Craig and Emma Stevenson spoke on the topic ‘Money does not equal happiness’, while the Senior team of Chloe Dobbie, Celeste McGinley and Meredith Lynch entertained the audience with their presentation on ‘The Power of Speech’.The Regional Finals will be held in Glasgow in February and this will be the fourth consecutive year that a Wellington team has reached this stage.

Michael Foyle Returns

Staff from St Edmund’s School in Jaipur, India were in school in October to strengthen links with staff and pupils as part of the Global School Partnerships programme. Dr Pooja Singh, Principal and Mr Kapil Singh, Depute Director, took part in collaborative work in the classrooms, enjoyed meetings with members of staff to help drive the project forward and met with Headmaster, Mr Johnson. They also participated in a focus group with parents to look at the running of the exchange programme.The next pupil visit to India takes place during the Christmas holidays this year.

Indian Visit

Internationally acclaimed violinist Michael Foyle returned to his former school in November to play in Carleton Turrets Hall with Estonian pianist Maksim Štšura. Wellington was delighted to welcome back this talented former pupil who was in the middle of a European tour with the pianist Maksim Štšura with a recital programme for violin and piano. The performance was well attended and staff, pupils and former staff felt priviliged to have the opportunity to hear this talented musician play in his old school hall.Michael was very keen to perform at his former school and agreed to give a recital in support of SAMH, The Scottish Association for Mental Health, which is the school’s charity for this session. The concert programme included pieces from Franck, Elgar, Brahms, Prokofiev and Mozart.

Michael Foyle attended Wellington School between 1995 and 2009 and was Dux and Head Boy in his sixth year. While at Wellington, Michael won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Tabor Award 2008 and was Leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Since then, he has been studying in London and Vienna and, in July 2015, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with the Regency Award for Excellence and the Roth Prize for the highest violin mark of the year. Alongside his studies, he has performed recitals and concertos in Essen, Paris, Moscow, Tallinn, Vienna and many others cities. Michael Foyle and Maksim Štšura started their collaboration in 2012 and have since performed extensively in prestigious venues across the United Kingdom including Queen Elizabeth Hall,

Michael Foyle and Maksim Štšura (Photo (c) Alastair Merrill)

Buckingham Palace, Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’ Piccadilly, and at the Philharmonia/Royal College of Music Lutoslawski Centenary Festival.They have also given recitals in Essen, Germany and for the Evgeny Mravinsky International Festival, including the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn. Since 2014, they are City Music Foundation and Live Music Now artists. Their debut in the Purcell Room for the Park Lane Group New Year Series 2015 was met with critical acclaim, including a four-star review in the Times. The duo has received coaching from internationally renowned artists including Stephen Kovacevich and Maxim Vengerov. In 2015 the Foyle-Štšura duo won the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe Duo Competition in London and the Salieri-Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Verona, Italy.

(Photo ((c) Benjamin Ealovega)

During September, ten young people from Wellington esperienced a week’s stay in Targoviste, Romania. This was the second meeting of the Erasmus+ project that Wellington School is running in conjunction with schools from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania and Slovenia. Most of the 50 pupils from the 5 visiting countries were staying with host families for the week whilst in Romania.

Internationalism rewarded by Diploma Success

Erasmus+ Pupils Meet again in Romania

As well as experiencing life in a family from a very different culture, pupils also took part in workshops, attended a guided tour on Art Nouveau architecture in Targoviste, visited the grand Parliament Building in Bucharest, travelled through rural Romania to visit stunning castles in the mountains and learned some Romanian dances.Jacqui Gibson, S5, was one of the pupils who really enjoyed the opportunity to visit this little-known country. She said: “Meeting people from different countries and learning about their culture is a fantastic experience. The Erasmus+ project has given me the opportunity to meet people from 5 other European nations and as a result I have made firm friendships with people from every country, many of whom I speak to on a weekly basis. At first it was slightly awkward as many of us didn’t know what to say to each other but once workshops were underway the ice was broken and we were enjoying learning about everyone’s home countries. By the end of the week,

...in the Peles castle there were Art Nouveau styled chairs similar to the style of Charles Rennie Macintosh that the Erasmus group had seen in the Glasgow School of Art...

...the first destination was the Romanian parliament - a grand towering palace with more than twelve floors...

....once the tour had concluded we were all given free time to explore the town with our hosts and try some traditional Romanian market cuisine....

Ten senior pupils from Wellington gained their UCAPE Diplomas this year and were awarded their diplomas by Mr Parlour at the end of last term, whilst in the Junior School, Primary 6 children were awarded t-shirts by the British Council as a result of a project with a Romanian school and a celebration of 10 years of E-Twinning at the school.Through the embedding of international education pupils at Wellington School derive great benefit from the opportunities to perfect their language skills whilst getting a taste of other cultures. Pupils are encouraged to include European studies in their Modern Foreign Languages curriculum culminating in the award of the prestigious UCAPE Diploma in European Proficiency.

Wellington School is enjoying a second three-year term of full International School status awarded by the British Council, has an Erasmus+ project that involves cooperation with schools from 5 other European countries and once again is one of the few schools in Scotland to have a Foreign Languages Assistant - this year appointed by the British Council and the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Pupils can choose to study French, German and Spanish at the school and the range of opportunities to use their language skills in a multinational environment includes rugby tours, international conferences and regular pupil exchanges with schools in France, Germany, Spain and India.

it was hard to say goodbye, the week had simply flown in for everyone!”Jacqui was even taken to a Romanian wedding on her first night. Traditional food was served, followed closely by dancing which continued until late. She said: “Most of the guests didn’t speak any English which was a culture shock but also a learning curve and a chance for me to pick up some Romanian. The experience of the wedding is something I will take through the rest of my life and I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity!”Jacqui was given the privilege of wearing the traditional Romanian costume - embroidered skirt, apron, and 100 year old blouse included - which was a personal highlight for her along with attending the wedding.

Asked about the differences she noticed between Romanian and Scottish life, Jacqui said: ”I was very comfortable staying with my host family, but as Romania is a recovering ex-Soviet Union country, many of the people who live there are very poor and as one guide told us “some people still do not have even the basics of running water”. It really makes us all appreciate how lucky we are to live in Scotland and have all the luxuries we take for granted.” The Erasmus+ project, which will run over

the next three years, is made possible by a grant awarded by the European Commission. The project’s title is Art Nouveau - Art Renouveau.

One of the benefits of young people seeing how other people live is that they tend to reflect upon the way their own society is organised and become less insular and more open to change. Pupils often show a growing interest in their community at home after being involved in such projects. Here at Wellington project work will continue with the preparation of a Glasgow Town Trail aimed at young people interested in discovering Glasgow Style Art Nouveau.The next project mobility is in January when the group will meet up in Slovenia.

Jacqui with pupils of 5 nationallities in Romania

In November, a group of 35 pupils from Wellington School were in Dortmund to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the partnership with the Mallinckrodt Gymnasium. During their visit the exchange pupils enjoyed a varied programme of activites: a Town Trail through Dortmund, a day-trip to Munster, a visit to Borusseum and to the Signal Iduna Park (BVB). The group was initially accompanied by Mrs Morag Allan (Exchange Coordinator), Mr David Stovell (Depute Head), Mrs Lysanne McMahon (Assistant Head) and Monsieur Jeremy Levif (Teacher of French and German). The Scottish delegation increased in size for the highlight of the week on the Monday evening when the pupils from both schools joined together in the the Mallinckrodt Gymnasium’s Forum for a celebratory concert. Mr Simon Johnson (Headmaster), Mr Mark Parlour (former Headmaster) together with his wife, Mrs Daphne Parlour (Press Officer), Mrs Susan Coontz (International Coordinator), and members of the choir and orchestra, together with the Music teachers, all arrived in Germany at the weekend. Following the concert, there was a sevice in the main Catholic Church in Dortmund on the Tuesday morning to celebrate 25 years of friendship between the two schools. Herr Christoph Weishaupt, Headmaster, addressed the audience at the concert, welcoming both Mr. Johnson and Mr. and Mrs. Parlour. Some of his welcome speech is reproduced here:We can celebrate this anniversary full of pride, joy and thankfulness and we can look into the future hopefully.And as this anniversary is such a fine event we are going to enjoy some pieces of music performed by two orchestras and two choirs – musicians from Wellington School and musicians from Mallinckrodt-Gymnasium.I would like to thank Mrs. Bullmann, who has organized these days here in Dortmund. I would also like to thank the organisers of today´s celebration – the musicians and their conductors. It is really a great pleasure for all of us that this partnership between our schools was founded in 1990 and has without any doubt developed to a remarkable level up to now. Thinking back to the early days of our partnership I would like to thank the initiators of this exchange,

Mrs. Niggemann, Mr. Koschany, Mrs. Allan and Mr. Freudenreich. For 25 years now hundreds of pupils have had the opportunity to profit from this exchange. The teachers who accompanied the groups did this in a very committed way and full of joy. Friendships have grown among pupils and also among teachers.And also at headmaster level, close ties have developed. The cooperation in all fields has always been in the best manner, as it should be between good partners. Over the last 25 years our collaboration has always been of a high standard, efficient and productive and has widened our horizons. We were always able to find solutions to all problems and challenges.When we from Dortmund look back at the last 25 years we especially enjoyed

Mr McPhee wearing a Borussia football • shirt in combination with a traditional Scottish kilt (A lovely combination that might set a trend. Who knows?)eating the most delicious biscuits in • Mr. Parlour´s officeholding service• having dinner and good conversations • with colleagueswatching pupils and teachers falling • into each other´s arms when saying goodbye at the end of the exchangeseeing how much our pupils learnt • from this exchangeMrs. Coontz´ and Mrs. Bullmann´s • creative power and energythe disciplined behaviour of the Scottish • pupils during morning assemblythe way tradition is held high by • Wellington Schoolthe fact that both the headmaster • and the staff of Wellington School have always stayed loyal and close to Mallinckrodt-Gymnasium

In the course of the last years our cooperation was raised to a higher level by working in selected projects, due to our mutual participation in the Comenius-Project and the Project Erasmus+. So our cooperation has become more and more international, especially because of the support given by the European Union for such programmes that link several European schools. The special relationship between our schools, however, is not supposed to be merged and absorbed in this general European mission. No, I would like to underline that the relationship between our schools should also be, in the future, a special one. We want to stay closely cooperating partner schools.It is in addition to this that we aim at collaborating on a European level. Everybody knows how important it is, that against the background of a globalized world, young people all over Europe come together and work together to find sustainable solutions for current and future problems.For example I would just like to mention

Global warming and climate change• The exhaustion of natural resources• The attacks of religious fanatics on • freedom and western values

Our school partnership gives us a very good opportunity to bring young people together and in this sense makes a small but important contribution to strengthen togetherness, freedom, humanity, democracy in Europe and the world.

Coming to the end of my speech, I • do hope that we will have many more exchanges to come,that we will organize and manage • many more interesting projects,that we will enjoy many more Ceilidhs • in Ayr,that we will enjoy many more walks • over the Christmas market.

Looking into the future we should pay attention to integrate young colleagues with all their ideas, energy and commitment into our exchange work. And I would like to invite senior and former colleagues to bring in their rich experience and cultivate their friendships.Good luck to our future cooperation – oder, wie man hier in Dortmund sagt, “Glückauf” für die nächsten Jahre und Jahrzehnte der Partnerschaft zwischen der Wellington School Ayr und dem Mallinckrodt-Gymnasium Dortmund.

25th Anniversary of Exchange Programme

Turn the clock back to the mid-eighties. The world of musical theatre has been dominated for the past decade by iconic productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita and the lyricist for both, Tim Rice, is searching for a new project. The game of chess has a place in the public consciousness that is unimaginable today and the Cold War is playing itself out metaphorically on a black and white chequered board. What could capture the spirit of the age better than a melding of global politics, Rice’s words and the theatrical musicality of Swedish superstars Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, whose first names provide the middle letters of ABBA? So, in 1984, ‘Chess’ the musical was born.Fast forward to 2015 and Wellington returned once again to The Gaiety in Ayr

for the production of ‘Chess’ with a modern twist. As always the energy, creativity and optimism of the pupils provided the nspiration for this school production, Their enthusiasm, commitment and team spirit brought the show to life as rehearsals took place through the autumn term ultimately providing a wonderful opportunity for the many singers, dancers, actors and technicians in school to showcase their talents on the big stage. A professional show needs the services of a first class production team and Director, Mr Martin Christie; Choreographer, Lynne Christie; Stage Manager, Mr Roger Robinson and Musical Director, Wellington’s Mr Dennis Haggerty all gave inspiration and dedication to the young performers.

CHESS the

Musical

Mayor:Anastacia Khymnyuk

Anatoly Sergievsky:Callum McCandless

Florence Vassey:Holly Martin

Freddie Trumper:Angus Brown

Arbiter:Lilli Finucane

F o r a l l t h e l a t e s t n e w s a b o u t e v e n t s a t W e l l i n g t o n , l o g o n t o t h e w e b s i t e a t w w w. w e l l i n g t o n s c h o o l . o r g

Gregory Vassey:Sam Truesdale

Eleanor Walters:Eleanor McMahon

Alexander Molokov:Christopher Summers

Young Florence:Carly Martin

F o r a l l t h e l a t e s t n e w s a b o u t e v e n t s a t W e l l i n g t o n , l o g o n t o t h e w e b s i t e a t w w w. w e l l i n g t o n s c h o o l . o r g

Updated to be played in a modern day setting, the story of Chess involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American (Freddie) and a Russian (Anatoly), in the World Chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other (Florence).The two great chess masters compete to be the best in the world only to find that their greatest contest is for the love of the same woman. Originally produced in London in 1986, this Tony-nominated cult rock musical explores the classic themes of love, loss and betrayal. Chess features the hit single ‘One Night in Bangkok,’ and unforgettable songs as such ‘Anthem,’ ‘I Know Him So Well,’ ‘Nobody’s Side,’ and ‘Pity the Child.’ Time Magazine called it “one of the best rock scores ever produced in the theatre.”

Svetlana Sergievsky:Eve Brady

Peru Expedition tests Endurance

hillside for a playing field. Whilst in the mountains, they were able to practise for the big trek by carrying out a training mini-trek to Colca Canyon to see condors. After some days working hard at Colca the pupils moved on to Lake Titicaca, on the border with Bolivia, where various other projects were undertaken in a local school. They were also able to learn about the culture of the lake dwellers who live on the floating islands of Uros and the island of Taquille.

During the summer holidays, 15 Wellington School pupils headed off to South America with Camps International to take part in a number of charitable projects in Andean villages.The pupils from Wellington joined up with five pupils from a school in Chelmsford and two from a school in Leicestershire to travel to Peru in early July. In addition to the charitable work they were engaged in the trip also involved a trek to Machu Picchu at 4,200 metres above sea level. All the pupils had raised considerable sums of money to pay for this Camps International project through a variety of fund-raising activities during the course of the last two years.The young people flew to Arequipa via Madrid and Lima, where they had an opportunity to visit the city and rest for a day after the rigours of the outward journey. They then travelled up into the mountains to Colca, where they undertook some strenuous work clearing and levelling a

A night in Cusco followed before setting off to undertake the very taxing Salkantay Inca trail. This pushed many to the limit, but the carrot on the stick was the chance to climb up to Machu Picchu and see the wonderful hidden city of the Incas.This astonishing experience completed, the group moved on to the Sacred Valley of Chichubamba to learn about Peruvian pottery and leatherworking, as well as learn to dance Peruvian folk dances in National costume.After a brief visit back to Cusco the pupils moved on to an area of historic Inca sites also in the Sacred Valley at Moray. Here the projects were to help build toilets in a village without sanitation and help improve the local school.Very tired, but proud of all they had achieved, the pupils arrived back in the UK with amazing tales to tell

Group at top of Salkantay pass Resting at Machu Picchu

Elli, Katie, Jenni and Natalie at Titicaca in national costume Children with pictures from Wellington

Kilimanjaro Charity Climb

for S5 Pupil

Saskia Bertschy, S5, was the youngest of a group of 15 adults to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro in June 2015.The climb was in memory of former Wellington pupil Ailsa Johnston and to raise awareness of child & teenage cancer and was organised by Maxine Allan, Saskia’s mother. Wellington, and the Junior School in particular, supported the group throughout their fundraising in 2014/15 and the team eventually raised £150k for CLIC Sargent. Saskia and the team visited a local school after the trip and gave them supplies provided by local people in Ayr, including rulers donated by Wellington and drawings done by children in Primary 1.

Children with pictures from Wellington

Saskia at the summit

Thirty eight S4 History and Modern Studies pupils had the opportunity to visit London in mid September as part of their National 5 courses.After catching an early flight to London City the pupils had the unexpected opportunity of meeting former first minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, on arrival in London. Mr Salmond engaged in an impromptu Q&A session with the pupils. The pupils then visited the Museum of London in Docklands. The focus of this visit was the slave trade, which forms a major part of the History course. The museum provided the pupils with a valuable insight into the UK’s role in the triangular slave trade and Wellington’s historians were able to discover more about London’s central role in the process through an examination of primary sources from the era. They also had the chance to view a special exhibition on Christina Bloom who was a photographer who captured key moments in the struggle of the Suffragettes around 100 years ago. Later that day the pupils enjoyed a trip to the theatre to see Wicked in London’s West End. The second day of the trip involved a whole day visit to Westminster. Representation and participation in the UK’s political system are key themes of the Modern Studies National 5 course. The day began with a tour of the Palace of Westminster,

visiting both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Pupils even got the opportunity to watch a debate in the House of Commons on the Assisted Dying Bill which really made an impact on the pupils. This was a most valuable experience as Westminster was awash with pressure groups from both sides forcefully making their case and a high quality discussion ensued. Pupils then participated in an educational workshop on the subject of voting and electoral systems. This provided a great opportunity for revision of the Democracy unit and served to consolidate learning through active experiences with expert staff from Parliament. The pupils were also fortunate enough to meet Corri Wilson, MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock who took time out of her busy schedule to speak about her experiences as a community representative and the role of a Member of Parliament generally. The pupils acquitted themselves well and asked a number of impressive, probing questions. After a quick whirl on the London Eye, Mr McDougall and Mrs Malloch led a walking tour of Whitehall to look around the main offices of Government and the Cenotaph. The pupils stepped off the plane having learnt a great deal about the UK’s political system and the role of the slave trade in shaping our nation.

Modern Studies/History London Trip

In November, Primary 1 children visited Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. They took part in a ‘Once upon a Time’ workshop, where they dressed up as knights and princesses and characters from the story of Briar Rose. They walked through the museum in their costumes and examined a famous painting of this story, looking for hidden characters such as the jester, the knight, the witch and the priest.Earlier in the term the children had a wonderful day exploring the countryside at Loch Doon. Setting off from the castle, the children collected natural materials and helped construct rafts which were tested in the waters of Loch Doon to see if they would float. They did!

This was followed by a listening and writing activity as children found a quiet place and noted down all the sounds that they could hear before putting them into a sound poem. After an exciting scavenger hunt, and feeling very hungry after the morning’s exertions, the class went on to Loch Riecawr for a picnic lunch at the adventure playground. A climb up the mountain followed after lunch, and the children celebrated reaching the summit. The final activity was collecting the colours of nature on an artist’s palette. As the midges descended in a cloud, it was time to return to school. Superb behaviour from the children and excellent help from parents combined to make this a most memorable day.

Pupils from classes throughout the Junior School entertained their teachers and classmates in October. during the annual ‘Wellie’s Got Talent’ performances held in Drumley Hall.The 2015 winner was Ruaridh Hunter from Primary 6.

Talent on Show in

Junior School

Outings to Loch Doon and Kelvingrove for Pupils from Primary 1

Two Senior girls, Daisy Michelson and Isla Stevenson, were given an amazing opportunity in November as Madame Bartholome, their French teacher, arranged for them to have 3 days immersion in French language and culture in Lyon.This is their account:Despite starting the day on barely two hours sleep, and beginning our journey at 2.30am on Friday, nothing could dampen our excitement for our departure to Lyon. We flew from Edinburgh to Geneva and took a bus to Lyon in the afternoon. Once in Lyon, we made a brief stop at our hotel before going out into the city to explore the Marche de Nöel. Here, we were introduced to the first of the Lyonnaise food we would try before our weekend was complete: tartiflette. Madame Bartholome led us around the streets of Lyon; we discovered Place Bellecour and Place Terreaux in which there is a fountain by Bartholdi. We crossed bridges and saw one of Lyon’s two rivers: la Saône.Saturday morning began our day of French immersion; we were introduced to Madame Bartholome’s family who

understood no English whatsoever. They accompanied us for the duration of the day, and our first stop was the Centre d’Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation. In this museum, we explored the archives of stories of French résistance people, and discovered incredible stories which we could not have explored without our knowledge of French. We were shocked, as well as moved, by the testimonies of resistance fighters who were tortured by Klaus Barbie, the Nazi leader in Lyon. For lunch, we visited a traditional French brasserie which had no menus; the options were read to us in French and a decision was required instantaneously. After this, we left for the Montluc Memorial Prison where résistance members were imprisoned during the war. Discovering the suffering which these brave fighters went through was a poignant moment of the trip, and allowed us to reflect on how important it is to stand up for rights and for freedom. At night, we interviewed Madame Bartholome’s family to find out their family connections to the résistance. This experience significantly developed

our French skills, and broadened our knowledge of this period in our history.On Sunday Madame Bartholome showed us Brasserie Georges, a world famous restaurant serving typical lyonnaise food. At 11.20 we went in, and by 12pm the huge restaurant had almost filled with around 200 people arriving at once. We enjoyed our 3 course meal as we were able to try out typical Lyonnaise foods, while being accompanied by a jazz band. Despite the restaurant being able to hold 200 people, by the time we were leaving the queue was out the door and along the street. Afterwards, we went to La Confluence and met Madame Bartholome’s family, where we were able to engage in French conversation and enjoy soft drinks on the terrace with a view of the canal that leads into the river. At 6:30pm we sadly had to leave Lyon and catch the bus back to Geneva for our flight home the following day. However, we now know we are fully prepared for any questions the SQA examiners may pose after being asked every question possible by Madame Bartholome’s 10 year old niece!

SQA Preparation through French Immersion

Junior Rugby Exchange

Wellington v Saint-Dominique

Staff and boys from I’Institut Saint Dominique, Wellington’s partner school in Mortefontaine, were in Ayr in November for the Junior Rugby Exchange.The rugby match between the two schools was played at Rozelle Park in very windy, cold and wet conditions.After a 10 minute warm up the boys kicked off. The Wellington S1/2 side managed to hold on to the ball and tried to move it to

the corners to find space. St Dominique put pressure on their attack and managed to turn the ball over in the tackle. They had bigger and faster boys in key positions and this made the difference. They quickly broke through and scored near the posts. Unfortunately for Wellington this was the story of the half, and the score at half time was 0-20.In the second half the Wellington boys rallied and managed to get better field

position but the few chances they made were quickly snuffed out by the efficient French tackling. Whilst Wellington managed to get close to the try line on a few occasions they didn’t manage to score. St Dominique played well from counterattack and with some very dangerous runners they managed to score four more tries. The Wellington boys will prepare well for the return fixture and hope that they can turn possession into points!

WELLINGTON SCHOOL Carleton Turrets Craigweil Road Ayr KA7 2XHPhone: 01292 269321 Fax: 01292 272161

Email: info@wellingtonschool.orgwww.wellingtonschool.org

Charity Fun Runfor SAMH

Wellington School pupils gathered at the beachfront in Ayr on Friday 2 October for the annual Fun Run/Sponsored Walk in aid of SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), which is the Sixth Year Charity for 2015-16.

Pupils in the Nursery Department completed an activity in the morning, with pupils from P1 to S6 assembling on the beach in the afternoon, ready for the off!

As always there were some imaginative costumes on display in addition to a number of competitive runners. Prizes were awarded for the best fancy dress and the first runners to complete the longer course.

Dates for your Diary Wed 6 Jan Staff return to SchoolThurs 7 Jan Pupils return to schoolWed 13 Jan S4 Prelims BeginSun 17 Jan Erasmus visit to Slovenia departsFri 22 Jan S4 Prelims EndSat 23 Jan Entrance TestsMon 25 Jan S4 Return to School

Office Bearers 2014/2015Senior School: Head Boy Patrick Smith Head Girl Naomi Hunter Deputies Luke Hughes Wallis WyllieJunior School: Head Boy William Sheils Head Girl Kiera West

Some other fund-raising efforts over the year - Harvest Thanksgiving, Glasgow half marathon and Christmas Craft Fair.