THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL

Commemoration and Prizegiving Day

Thursday 30th June 2016 at 10.30am

COMMEMORATION AND PRIZE-GIVING DAY

Thursday 30th June at 10.30am

Chairperson: David Williamson

Order of Ceremony

Chair’s Address: David Williamson

Captain Eric Brown Journals: School Captain for 2016-17 – Angus Farquhar

Presentation of Prizes: Mrs Maria Anderson and Mrs Evelyn Smith

Hazel (Piano) by Harry Docherty

Former Pupil’s Address: Russell Ogg

Valedictory Address: Dux of School – Eleanor Young

Reply by Rector: Mrs Pauline Walker

The School Song

Ceremony of Leave-taking through the Memorial Doors

Passing on of the School Captaincy

Leave-taking through the Memorial Gates to the clubhouse

PRIZES & SCHOLARSHIPS

Session 2015/16

FIRST YEAR

John Murray Prize for Music James Looby 1P2

Janine Whitecross Trophy for best Girl in PE Millie Johnson 1A1

Lady Glenorchy Prize for Religious Education David Smith 1S1

Noreen Richardson Memorial Prize for Courage and Determination David Smith 1S1

Alex Aitken Prize for Scottish History Nathan Stewart 1S2

Alex Aitken Prize for Scottish History Louise MacArthur 1S2

Home Economics Finlay Boath 1A1

Modern Studies Kate Murray 1A2

Geography Milli Watson 1P2

PE Sean Calder 1A1

The William Rutherford Bequest Award for Sport - Achievement at

International Level Dan Haugh 1S2

Art & Design Lauren Fraser 1P2

CDT Lauren Fraser 1P2

Jessie Young Prize for Meritorious Effort Sadie Butterworth 1A1

English Finlay Paterson 1A1

Tait Prize - Proxime to Dux of Form 1 Finlay Paterson 1A1

Robertson Bursary Finlay Paterson 1A1

Mathematics Douglas Macartney 1P2

Science Douglas Macartney 1P2

History Douglas Macartney 1P2

Grigor prize for Debating (Junior) Douglas Macartney 1P2

Robertson Bursary Douglas Macartney 1P2

Boyd Prize (1857) - Dux of Form 1 Douglas Macartney 1P2

SECOND YEAR

John Murray Prize for Music Zak McCullough 2S1

Sir James Purves Stewart Prize – (I) Dux in French Thanim Chowdhury 2S1

Sir James Purves Stewart Prize – (II) Dux in German Thomas Nightingale 2S2

Alex Aitken Prize for Scottish History Cameron Duff 2B1

Alex Aitken Prize for Scottish History Eva Tallaron 2B2

Art & Design Abbi Wilson 2P1

Geography Anna Aikman 2P2

History Anya Matthews 2P1

PE Calvin Catala 2P1

Modern Studies Hannah McAlpine 2S1

English Lucy Krauth 2B2

RMPS Megan Venn 2A2

CDT Princess Florendo 2S1

Drama Rosie Wilkinson 2P1

Prize for Outstanding Academic Improvement in STEM Sarah Zulkernain 2S2

Mathematics Sravani Challagali 2P1

Science Sravani Challagali 2P1

Ritchie Prize (1824) - Dux of Form 2 Sravani Challagali 2P1

THIRD YEAR

PSA Prize for Meritorious Effort Ralph Henderson 3S1

Prize for Outstanding Academic Improvement in STEM Rebecca Langton 3A2

The Royal High School Prize for Art and Design Ruaraidh Barron 3S2

Hartman Prize – (I) Dux in French Eve Harkness 3S2

Hartman Prize – (II) Dux in German Jack Crummey 3A2

Alex Skinner Prize for Computing Connor Coull 3S2

Alex Skinner Prize for Computing Nathan Baillie 3A1

J W Loudon Prize for Public Speaking Charlie Ashcroft 3S1

Morrison Bursary Shinjan Sangal 3S2

Morrison Bursary Megan Aitken 3P1

J W Loudon Prize for Public Speaking Emma Walker 3P1

Donaldson Bursary Emma Walker 3P1

Donaldson Bursary Holly Davis 3P1

Sibbald Bursary 1st girl Katie Hepburn 3P1

Sibbald Bursary 1st boy Logan Dow 3B2

Carmichael Club Prize (1878) - Dux of Form 3 Logan Dow 3B2

FOURTH YEAR

Prize for Technical Education Alexandra Murray 4P1

Richard Green memorial prize for Art & Design Rosie Biggar 4B1

Alex F Hall Prize for Computing Bulelani Ndhlela 4B2

Mary Hunter Memorial prize for most improved in Form 4 Byron Malone 4A2

Carson Bursary, Dux of English Tom Campbell 4P1

Prize for Outstanding Academic Improvement in STEM Audra Nisbit 4B2

Noreen Richardson Memorial Prize for Home Economics Cora Harland 4B1

John Marshall Prize (1910) for Classics and Mathematics Robyn Smith 4S2

Mackay Prize (1877) - Dux of Form 4 Robyn Smith 4S2

FIFTH and SIXTH YEAR

Prize for Technical Drawing Robyn Young 6A1

Prize for Outstanding Academic Improvement in STEM Privjyot Jheeta 5P1

Dux in Chemistry Privjyot Jheeta 5P1

RHS FT President’s Prizes – (I) Dux in History Aidan Vernel 5S2

RHS FP President’s Prize (II) Dux in Geography Emma Gray 5P2

William Young Memorial Prize – Dux in RMPS Aidan Quinn 6B1

William Young Memorial Prize – Dux in Classics Alexandra Wilson 6B2

Carson Prize Dux of English Akhila Sibi George 5S2

Prize for Accounting Ross Witney-Hunter 5A2

Dux in Physics Ross Witney-Hunter 5A2

John Turner Prize – Dux in Mathematics Ross Witney-Hunter 5A2

Muir Memorial prize - Dux of Form 5 Ross Witney-Hunter 5A2

OPEN AWARDS

Crichton Cup To be announced

W J Watson Prize for Original Research (AH Physics/Chemistry/Biology) Claire Dow 6B1

The Malkin Prize for Service in the community Katie Parnell 5P1

The George Grubb Award for Outstanding Achievement in Athletics Cal McLennan 5P2

Charles Burrows Prize for Leadership in Athletics Rhona Fraser 5P1

Grigor prize for Debating (Junior) Angus Walker Stewart 3S2

Grigor prize for Debating (Senior) Laura Wood 5B1

Grigor prize for Debating (Senior) Sarah Gardener 5P1

Prize for Dramatic Work Ben Petrie 4A1

John Hall Prize for Drama Scott Edwards 5S1

Prize for Home Economics Rosie Lyle 5B1

Dux in Home Economics Morgan McLeod 5S1

Classical Studies Prize (Dux) Jamie Harvie 6A2

Prize in Administration Gemma Wright 6B2

Dux in Business Studies and Economics Cameron Wanstall 6B2

Martin Pearce Family Prize for Business Management Katie Duncan 5P2

Nicolson Prize for Music Rachel Sunter 3P1

Elizabeth Wemyss Prize for Music Ailis MacLean 5P1

Ness Trophy for Craftmanship Konrad Zbyrowski 6A2

Prize for Engineering Technology Ben McInnes 4A2

Grant Memorial Cup – Dux in Music Harry Docherty 5P1

Royal High School (London) Club Prize – Dux in Technological Design Ben Morris 6P2

The RHS (London) Club prize - Dux in Art Emily Lyall 5P2

W J Melrose Prize for Art Arianna Vettraino 6S2

Prize for Economics Ciara Crummey 6A2

J G Cattanach Prize for Scottish History Ciara Crummey 6A2

Ian Steadman and John P Mackintosh Prize for Politics Megan McKay 5B1

RHS Parents’ Association Prize for Modern Studies Erin McGrail 6P1

Bruce Prize – Dux in History Erin McGrail 6P1

Burgoyne Prize – Dux in German Erin McGrail 6P1

James M Moore Memorial Prize – Dux in French Olivia Bastin 5S2

Dux in Spanish Olivia Bastin 5S2

N H Small Prize in French & Dux in Spanish Olivia Bastin 5S2

Dux in Computing Alistair White 6A1

RHS FP 2000 Prize for IT Finn Torbet 6B1

James H Scott Prize for Mathematics Thomas Adams 6B1

Dr W King Gillies Prize for Scottish Literature Leo MacNeill 6P1

Hector McIver Memorial prize for Literary Appreciation Leo MacNeill 6P1

Sir Walter Scott Centenary Prize Jack Ainslie 6A1

Carson Prize (1851) for an English Essay To be announced

J G Cattanach Prize for Scottish Literature Lillie Teden 6P2

Malcolm Knox Prize for best creative writing Lillie Teden 6P2

MacMillan club Prize (1865) – Dux in English Lillie Teden 6P2

James Montgomery Bell Memorial prize for the study of Scots Law Sarah Walker 6B1

Steven Armstrong Roy Memorial prize for Courage and Inspiration Stephen Asher 6P1

Neil McCurrach Award for Participation and Enthusiasm to the Full Gillon Stevenson 2B1

The Royal High School (London) Club Prize for an English Poem Emma Wright 6S2

Dr Barclay's Memorial Prize for Service Michael Taylor 6S1

Rector's Award for service to the School Andrew Ellis 5A2

Rector's Award for Resilience Alison Scotland 6A1

Nicol Prize for Service Amy Robson 2P1

Nicol Prize for Service Charlotte Endicott 5B2

Nicol Prize for Service Grant Salton 5A1

Mabon Prize for biggest improvement of a pupil in S5 Jordan Devine 5A1

Nicol Prize for Service Jordan Devine 5A1

General Sports Prizes for Girls Ailsa MacArthur 3P2

General Sports Prizes for Girls Eve McFadden 2B2

General Sports Prizes for Girls Rae Ashcroft 1S2

General Sports Prizes for Girls Shawna Philipsen 4B2

The Royal High School Parent Council Junior Prize (S1-S3) for

demonstrating responsible citizenship within the school community

consistently throughout the school year

Louise Ellis 2A2

The Royal High School Parent Staff Association Junior Prize (S1-S3) for

being an effective contributor to the school community throughout the

school year

Harriet Sweatman 2P2

John Paterson Small Prize for Music Sarah Cronin 5S2

The Royal High School Parent Staff Association Junior Prize (S1-S3) for

being an effective contributor to the school community throughout the

school year

Sarah Cronin 5S2

The school community development award Victoria Coutts 6B1

Prize for Outstanding Academic Improvement in STEM Reece Docherty 6B1

Sir John Greig Dunbar Prize for Citizenship Lorna Mahaffy 6P2

Sir John Greig Dunbar Prize for Citizenship Michael Keegan 6A1

William Rutherford Bequest Award for Art Rhona Brown 6A1

William Rutherford Bequest Awards for PE Gregor Jack 6S2

Philip Harris Prize for Biology Laura Woodhead 6S2

Inches Prize - Dux in Chemistry Laura Woodhead 6S2

Percy Malcolm Stewart Minor Laura Woodhead 6S2

Percy Malcolm Stewart Median Thomas Adams 6B1

Percy Malcolm Stewart Median Alena Larionova 6S2

Inches Prize – Dux in Physics Juliet Goddard 6P1

The Royal High School Parent Council Senior Prize (S4-S6) for

demonstrating responsible citizenship within the school community

consistently throughout the school year

Juliette Goddard 6P1

Sir David Yule Scholarship Juliette Goddard 6P1

Sir David Yule Scholarship Sophie Malcolm 6A2

Tullis Prize – Dux in Mathematics Sam Ralton 6B1

Percy Malcolm Stewart Major Sam Ralton 6B1

Sir Alexander Stevenson Prize - Proxime to Dux Sam Ralton 6B1

Chisholm Prize – Dux in Geography Eleanor Young 6P1

Andrew Wilson Prize for Service and Leadership Eleanor Young 6P1

RHS Exhibition - Dux Eleanor Young 6P1

The Royal High School Club prize - Dux of School Eleanor Young 6P1

SCHOOL SONG

Vivas, Schola Edinensis

Schola Regia venerabilis:

Sicut arx in colle sita -

Sicut sol e nubibus densis -

Splendes, splendeas in aeternum,

Alma Mater atque amabilis.

Liberi tui te laudamus

Laeto omnium cum clamore

Et cum multis posthac annis

Tui, quam iuvenes amabamus,

Senes rursus meminerimus,

Vi clamabimus haud minore:

Refrain: Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Vivas, Schola Regia!

Refrain: Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Schola Regia!

Vivas, Vivas, Schola Regia!

MEMBERS OF STAFF – SESSION 2015 – 16

Rector – PAULINE WALKER BSc Hons(Heriot Watt), PGCE(Edinburgh)

Depute Rectors

DAVID SIMPSON, BA(Mus) Hons Exon, DipEd

JEN MENZIES, BEd(MH), MEd(Stirling)

PAUL CHAMBERS, MA Hons (Aberdeen), PGCE (Edin)

Business Manager – Helen Brooks, BA (Napier), PGC Business Management, Assoc CIPD

Art & Design: Carol Haley, MA(Edin), PGCE, Lois Combe, DA(Edin), PGCE, Julie Howie BA Hons

(Robert Gordon), PGCE, Caitlin Beaver

Biology: Katy Robertson, Gillian Kelly, BSc (Stirling), PGCE, Claire Russell, MA(Camb), PhD(Edin),

PGCE(Durham), Gordon Rutter, MSc (Edin), BSc (London), PGCE,

Business Education: Irene KS Brown, Dip Com(Glas Coll of Tech), Yvonne Dagnall BA Hons,

PGCE(Napier), Dorothy Ferguson

Chemistry: Dr Avril Henney, BSc(Edin), PhD(Lon), Michelle McLernon, BSc Hons (Edin), PGDE (Edin),

Philip Wootton, BSc Hons, (Glasgow), PGDE (Edin), Dr Fiona Scott

Computing Studies: G Wendy Reith, BSc(Stirling), Frank Lagan, BSc(Stirling), Holly Davidson,

Craft, Design and Technology: Mark Stevenson, BSc Ind Design (Napier), PGCE, David Allan,

DipTechEd, (Moray House), Krysia Smyth, BEd Hons, Ashley Marshall, Kirsty Dick,

Drama: Gaye Almond

English: Douglas Arbuckle, , Ailsa Clarke, MA(Glas), PGCE, Daniel Craig, MA(Edin), PGCE, PGCE,

Bernice Ford, MA Hons (Glasgow), PGCE (J’Hill), Helen McHarrie, MA(Edin), Martin Moonie,

MA(Abd), PhD(Oxford), PGCE, Gillian E Pia, MA(Edin), DipEd, Mollie Skehal, BA Hons (Stirling), PGCE,

Helen McLean, PGDE, Alistair Robertson, MA Hons, Andrew Rooney, Archie Millar

Geography: Stefania Mariani, Maria Anderson, BEd(Edin/MH), Ashley Fulton, BSc Hons, (Stirling)

History: Kate E Fraser MA(Edin), PGCE, Alison Somerville, MA(Edin), PGCE, Mairi MacDermot,

Jesanna Gooch

Home Economics: Jill P Templeton, DipHE with F&N (Rbt Gordon’s), CertSecEduc(Abd), Kathryn

Kelly,BSc Hons (Queen Margaret), PGDE (Strathclyde)

Mathematics: Neil Tilston, BSc(Hons) Edin, PGDE, Kathryn Gray, MA(Abd), Abdallah Serhani, BEng

(Edin), PGDE, Joanne Campbell, BSc, MSc (Aberdeen), PGDE, Alison Underwood, MA Hons,

(Aberdeen), PGCE (Open University), Isabelle Dupraz, Ryan Docherty, Neil Millington, Rachel

Shankland

Modern Languages: C Welsh, Tom Cook, BA, MA(Edin), CertEd, Morag McCallum, MA Hons (Edin),

PGCE, Claire Landsburgh, LL.B Hons, (Glas), PGCE, Bianca Mariani, Seyda Kilerci

Modern Studies: Gary Snedden, MA(Edin), PGCE, PGDE, Jennifer Reynolds, BA Hons, (Stirling), Bed,

(Stirling), Domonic Forbes

Music: Louise Holland, Jennifer Good

Physical Education: Steven Raeburn, Fiona J MacMillan, BEd(Edin), MSc(Edin), PGDE, Heather

Brown, Bed Hons (Edin), Daniel Lane, Bed Hons (Edin), Hannah McKeich, Emma Helm

Physics: Stephen A Bakke, BSc(Lon), PGCE, David Hill, MEng, (Edin), PGCE, Richard Thorbjornsen,

Calum Ferguson

Religious and Moral Education: Sebastian C Sewell, MTh(St Andrews), PGCE, Alexandra Lockhart,

Meghan Brady-McDonald

Support for Learning: Deborah Hislop, BEd Technology (Edin), Ben Davenport, Adam Reed

Support for Pupils: Dee Johnston, BA Hons (Stirling), Jane L Saddler, BSc (Edin), PGCE, Fiona M

White, BSc(Edin), Nicola Casey, BA, DipEd(Stirling), Iain Welsh, BA Hons, PGCE, Scott Rodger

Careers Adviser: Caroline McArdle

Librarian: Evelyn Smith, ALA

Administrative Staff: Diane Aitken, Shirley Duncan, Karen Fergusson, Lorraine Lorraine, Karen

Reilly

School Support Assistants: Jen Cairns, Jill Hunter, Audrey Pannozzo, Lindsay Quinn, Margaret Scott,

Elizabeth Sneddon

Pupil Support Assistants (SFL): Lesley Baird, Elizabeth Baird, Elaine Berry, Aine Cahill, Elizabeth

Ivinson, Julie McKeever, Jasmine Ryan, Marian Wootton

Sports Coordinator: Jonathan Wallace

Community Police Officer: Darren Campbell

Senior Service Support Officer: Robert Sloan

Service Support Officers: Brian W Whelan, Fred McBride

Senior Technician: John Stables

ICT Technician: Michael Duvalle

Laboratory Technicians: Ian Young, Kathryn Clark

Workshop Technician: Kevin McQueen

Catering Supervisor: Karen Sloan

THE ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL

Annual Report

Introduction

As the 2015/16 session draws to a close it is a great pleasure to look back over our year and reflect

on all that has taken place in The Royal High School.

We began the year with a very positive set of SQA results. Standards of attainment and

achievement continue to be very good and compare very well with results in Edinburgh and across

Scotland. We are very proud of young people and delighted with the standard of work they produce

in exams and the wider achievement opportunities they engage with to excellent result.

Our results at the end of S4 continue to be very good, with elements of excellence. Almost all

measures across the middle school have been sustained with positive trends. Within National 5

64% of learners achieved at least 5 passes, 35% of learners achieved 8 passes at National 5 level in

S4 and 19 young people achieved excellent results with 8 passes at A. This demonstrates a very

high level of attainment within our S4. In all measures across S4 at level 5 we have outperformed

our virtual comparators. In most cases this was significant.

Our Higher passes within S5 were excellent with improvements across those achieving 3 (+1%) and

5 (+8%) Highers by the end of S5. We are particularly pleased with the number of young people

now achieving 5 Higher awards as this has increased to 35% (up 12% across 3 years). The majority

of our young people are able to gain an award in at least one Higher by the end of S5. A significant

number of pupils gained 5 A band awards at Higher in S5 (27 pupils with 5 all at band 1) and 3 A

band awards (13 pupils) at Advanced Higher in S6. This clearly demonstrates the climate for

exceptionally high achievement is very much evident in the school and we are very proud of these

young people.

A number of departments demonstrated excellent attainment and the majority of them

outperformed comparators and national performance at Higher and Advanced Higher level.

Wider achievement also continues to be an area of strength, with pupils being presented for Duke

of Edinburgh, ASDAN (Award Scheme Development & Accreditation Network) awards and gaining

SALTIRE volunteering awards, as well as engaging with programmes such as JET (Jobs, Education

and Training), Career Academies and YPI (Youth and Philanthropy Initiative). Opportunities to

perform, participate and compete in a wide range of extra-curricular activities, such as Sports, Arts,

Music, Dance, and to participate in travel opportunities, are many and varied.

Positive destinations are very strong in the school. Almost all young people who left in 2014/5

session are currently in sustained positive destinations. Our school leaver numbers entering further

or higher education, employment or training continue to be very strong, with sustained positive

destination figures of 98.1%. More than 50% of our leavers move on to Higher Education.

This June our new curriculum was launched along with our new 7 block days. Our S1-3 pupils began

their new Broad General Education courses which ensure all pupils can access all areas of the

curriculum equally as well as exciting inter-disciplinary and enhancement courses. Senior Phase

(S4-6) pupils made a free choice to study a maximum of 7 National, Higher, Advanced Higher,

vocational or wider achievement subjects. We firmly believe this will provide an excellent

curriculum for all of our young people and give them every opportunity to attain and achieve their

very best and move forward into excellent positive destinations post school.

We continue to lead the way nationally in our ICT provision and all our S4-6 pupils are equipped

with iPad devices which they use both in school and at home. This initiative allows to give our pupils

access to the most innovative and relevant materials to support learning and we continue to

develop their use across the school.

Parents are key partners in the school and we continue to involve them fully. We have a very active

Parent Council and Parent/Staff Association who gives us great support throughout the year in

numerous ways. You can read about their year later in the annual report. We also believe in keeping

parents well informed and our email bulletin continues to be very popular with parents ensuring

they receive regular updates on what’s happening in the school. This has also enabled us to conduct

a number of parental surveys which has ensured parent voice is very strong in everything we do.

We also continue to make use of our website www.royalhigh.edin.sch.uk and a Twitter feed

@Royal_High_Sch both of which we use to share news and events.

Our wider curriculum continues to thrive with a huge variety of clubs, shows, performances and

visits taking place. These enhance the school experience of all our young people and ensure they

develop strong skills for life and work. We have had many competitive successes this year in areas

such as numerous sports, debating, film, dance, music, chess and arts. Our hugely talented pupils

continue to demonstrate the skills they have developed and are a credit to the school. You can read

all about these in our departments section of this report.

Our first residential of the session was a very successful German exchange in December. This was

followed by a very successful ski trip to France in February. We ran an action-packed Activities

Week with trips heading off to Rome, Naples, London and the Belgian battlefields and Paris. In

addition almost all our S1 pupils travelled to Dounans Outdoor Centre for a very successful week,

despite the midges! Students in school took part in a wide range of day trips and in-school activities

such as sketching, canoeing, rock-climbing, sports, crafts, bakery, cake-making and much more!

Our Romanian Habitat for Humanity trip also took place this term and was again very successful

making a huge difference to the lives of those who will benefit. Our residentials create wonderful,

long-lasting memories for students and staff and make a huge contribution to the life of the school.

They would not be possible without the hard work and commitment of staff and I am very grateful

for the time and effort they put in to these opportunities. Next year’s plans are already well

underway and include an S3 residential experience for all S3 pupils to the Belgian Battlefields.

In April we returned from the Easter break to the news that the majority of our building was going

to be closed to staff and pupils. This led to the installation of our huts where we have been

temporarily housed for the whole of Term 3. This has been a very challenging time with a large

number of staff and subjects displaced across the small part of our building we have access to. Staff

have been incredible at making the best of this very challenging situation and I have been very

grateful to them all for their resilience and spirit in ensuring our pupils continue to access their

learning. Pupils have also shown great maturity in coping with numerous room changes, practical

subjects in all sorts of unusual accommodation, picnic lunches and ‘festival’ toilets. We are due to

return to our building in August and I know we are all looking forward to getting back to normal.

This year has had challenges, great successes and lots of fun in between. We continue to embrace

our traditions and histories as well as providing innovative learning for our young people. I would

like to thank our staff for their work, energy and commitment and all our many partners, parents

and carers who all make The Royal High School such a special place.

Viva Schola Regia

Pauline A. Walker

Rector

Staffing News

The school staff continue to give unstintingly and work tirelessly for the school across a remarkably

broad front, in both curricular and extracurricular activities.

This year we say goodbye to no less than 16 colleagues. Our 4 probationary teachers have very

successfully completed their 12 month probationary period. Ms Beaver in Art, Mr Kilerci in Modern

Languages, Ms Helm in PE and Mr Millar in English all leave us as confident and valuable

professionals having met and exceeded the highest standards of the profession. They have added

enormously to the school during their time with us and we wish them all the very best for their

future careers.

Two long serving colleagues retire this year - Mrs Maria Anderson in Geography and Mrs Evelyn

Smith, our librarian – having made major contributions over more years than it is polite to refer to,

not only in their own areas but also to the wider life of the school. They will be greatly missed by

colleagues and pupils alike and we hope they both enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Mr Tilston in Maths leaves us to return to teach in Dundee and the school football teams are already

scouting for a worthy replacement manager if such a thing exists. He will be greatly missed for his

mathematical excellence, dancing skills and celebrity panels.

Ms Cahill one of our pupil support assistants also leaves the High School, to work in Dundee. In

doing so she takes on an even greater support role as she and Mr Tilston are to marry and we wish

them our heartiest congratulations.

Mrs Ferguson in Business Education leaves us to take up a post in the Borders closer to home, our

loss is their gain!

Miss Dick in CDT, herself a former pupil, takes up a permanent post in Fife and Ms Shankland in

Maths is doing the same in Midlothian. Mrs Fraser in History returns to the History Department in

August after a secondment, which means we must sadly say goodbye to Mrs Gooch in History who

has contributed greatly to an already strong team. Ms Maher in Science also leaves us to take up

a permanent post in East Lothian. We wish them all the very best and have enjoyed working with

such excellent colleagues.

Ms McKeich in PE leaves us as Mr Watson returns from secondment, she takes up a post in Leith

Academy.

In Support for Pupils, Mrs Saddler and Mrs Casey leave us for a temporary secondment to the

Scottish Government, and we welcome Ms Sim who will join us as Support for Pupils Leader in their

absence.

We wish all of them well and thank them for their outstanding support of the school.

Expressive Arts

The Expressive Arts faculty saw

some changes to staffing this

session. Mrs. Almond returned

from her career break to the

Drama department, Miss Good

joined the Music department

following Mr. Morley’s promotion

to Dollar Academy, and Miss

Beaver is undertaking her

probationary year in Art and

Design.

In Art and Design Higher results were the best for several years, with 74% achieving an ‘A’ pass with

particularly outstanding results for the Expressive folio. Nat 5 continues to be strong too. Coreen

Grant achieved 100% in Advanced Higher and her work was chosen for the SQA Scottish Exhibition.

New areas within the department included the inclusion of digital photography for S2 IDL, now to

be developed as a National Progression Award at Level 5 for senior pupils; the extension of textile

work to include fashion; use of the outdoor classroom for sketching; and the consolidation of

software programmes like Photoshop Touch and I Can Animate. Trips and excursions included the

Edinburgh College of Art fashion show; the Portrait Gallery for S3; and the Museum during Activities

Week.

Higher Drama students attended exciting professional performances of Lord of the Flies and The

Crucible. Both plays were used towards their Higher exam, along with Men Should Weep and Miss

Jean Brodie. National 5 pupils this year

performed excerpts from Blood

Brothers and Shakers, gaining them all

excellent marks for their practical

drama work. Next year we are delighted

to be expanding the Drama timetable as

well as Drama staffing. We would like

to thank Miss Hamill for her

contribution to the department in her

final term as a Drama student.

Music saw excellent results in the

Listening paper in particular. A high

profile event this year was the Spifox charity event in the EICC, where 15 pupils performed, by

invitation, at an annual event organised by the Scottish Property Festival of Christmas (‘Spifox’) to

raise money for children’s charities across Scotland. The afternoon auction usually raises at least

£150,000 – an indicator of the scale of this event. Some of our senior pupils performed a John

Rutter carol at St. Cuthbert’s Church, to a full house of 600. Later, others in the group performed

‘Price Tag’ and ‘For Good’ from the musical Wicked, during a lunch and fundraising auction in the

main suite of the EICC. This had an audience of nearly 1500 business people from the property

industry, making it consistently the largest charity lunch in the UK. Our annual Christmas concert

was again hugely popular, with a large variety of groups performing music from Bach to the Jungle

Book.

Business Education and Computing Science

Across the faculty this session we have engaged in three out of classroom experiences. The S4

Business Education class headed to Coca-Cola, the S3 Computing class to Napier University and S3

girls into digital.

In the classroom learners have been

exposed to a range of learning activities –

use of I-TuneU, Edmodo, Scholar, filming

and photography with the iPads to help

learners remember class room learning.

These new courses Higher and Advanced

Higher have been well received by both

the learners and teachers. The faculty

continues to offer a range of courses

where we try and facilitate the

individuals’ requirements, whether it is in

SQA courses, awards in ORACLE or CISCO. Three leaners headed off to start apprenticeships in The

Royal Bank of Scotland.

“Virgin Money” was introduced to the S1 curriculum. This involved group work, organising and

running a Christmas Fair. The whole year made a profit of £900. Half of this money is being given

to Cancer Research UK and the other half will be rewarded to the year group.

CDT

Wow! What a year it has been. It’s hard to see past our current situation but should try as there

have been many exciting things going on in CDT during the year. Firstly staffing. Miss K Dick has

now spent a full academic year with us, deputising for Mr J Todd, and has done a splendid job.

Unfortunately she has accepted permanent employment in Fife region from the beginning of 16-

17. We will miss her but will have a new teacher in place from August. With departmental

expansion in pupil numbers we will also be taking on a 0.4 teacher also from August. Mr Stevenson,

Mr Allan, Mrs Smyth and Miss Marshall are still going strong too. We have all worked hard to ensure

our pupils have been given the best opportunity to be successful in their coursework and exams

despite their courses being partly curtailed due to deficiencies in the building. All their internal

marks where possible were passed on to individuals and were submitted to the SQA on Wed 15

June. Pupils from our department found success in the annual Rotary Club Technology Tournament.

We entered two teams in the junior and intermediate categories and both came first in each. The

task this year was to design a working swing/lifting bridge for a yacht marina.

English and Media Studies

SQA results in August were very good, due in no small part to the high standards of learning and

teaching and commitment of teachers throughout the year. We have had a number of students

involved in activities ranging from ‘Language in the Scottish Parliament’ to the Edinburgh

International Film Festival’s Schools Competition, where one film has been shortlisted for a prize.

Emily Goddard was a regional finalist in the Royal Mail Young Letter Writers competition, producing

an excellent piece about interior design.

The school continued to promote the

arts through the activities of the Review

Group, who were out and about in

Edinburgh reporting on a number of

plays and musicals. October saw the

retirement of Mr Bacciarelli after 24

years as Head of Department. A reliable

source has it that in the 150 years since

the appointment of the first ‘English

Master’ at the school, Tom and his

predecessor Sandy accounted for 50 of

them! His commitment and energy

during this time has of course been

immeasurable. The department and school wish him all the best.

During October the Core Skills class did

themselves proud by organising the Food

Bank Collection and then, after visiting the

Lady Haig Poppy Factory in November,

holding a fundraiser for the charity at the

Christmas Concert. Comic Film Club and

the Star Wars Club ran at lunchtimes this

year, helmed by our very own Super Hero.

The debating club also continued to thrive,

having a number of notable successes

throughout the year. As well as being

involved in the Model United Nations, we had finalists in the Procurator Fiscal’s Public Speaking

Competition and still have the Donald Gorrie Debating Competition to come at the end of June.

Sarah Gardner and Laura Wood did incredibly well to reach the final of the Donald Dewar Memorial

Debating Competition at the Scottish Parliament earlier this month. In finishing as runners up, they

were a credit to themselves and their school, speaking eloquently and intelligently under pressure

and maintaining an erudite and dignified style throughout.

Another excellent addition to our resources has been the work done by teachers with the City of

Edinburgh libraries. We have managed to get digital access to eBooks, magazines and millions of

music tracks for all young people in S4 – S6, through their iPads. This is not only obviously of

fantastic cultural benefit but will hopefully support the reading of a variety of interesting fiction

and non-fiction, across all subject areas.

Looking forward to next year, we are looking for ways to develop and improve. Work has begun on

developing English language resources for our junior courses and for the website. Amongst other

things, we will be starting up a Writing Club next session. We began revision classes after Christmas

this year and hope to continue this with a greater uptake amongst students next year. We have a

number of staff involved with SQA marking at National 5 and Higher this session, which will inform

our practice going forward. We are actively seeking ways to enrich the experience for young people

in English and Media. Yesterday saw the initial meeting of a new group of reviewers who will form

part of the Schools Review and Prize-Giving Panel for the Edinburgh International Festival.

I would like to thank all the members of the Faculty for their dedication and hard work this year

and for making me feel welcome since my arrival.

Geography and RMPS

The faculty has seen a number of staffing changes this academic session. Ms Shiona Park left her

post as Curriculum Leader in August to join Perth and Kinross authority. Mr Sebastian Sewell took

up post as Acting Curriculum Leader from August to February. Ms Stefania Mariani joined the

faculty as new Curriculum Leader in February. Ashley Fulton went on maternity leave, prior to the

birth of her daughter and Christopher Adam covered this post until her return in April. Ms M

Anderson announced her retirement and will leave her post at the end of the summer term. Ms M

Anderson joined the Royal High School in April 1989 and we are sad to see her go but delighted for

her as she starts a new chapter in her life.

The faculty have been busy delivering the new National qualifications in Geography, RMPS and

Classics. The staff have also been busy developing a new enhancement course in Social Subjects

collaborating with History and Modern Studies. Some staff have also delivered IDL opportunities

this academic session.

Finally, during activities week, Miss Lockhart led an S3 trip to Naples with the support of Ms M

Anderson. This involved a week of activities including pizza and ice cream making, visiting Pompeii,

Mount Vesuvius and the coliseum.

Integrated Support Team

This has been a busy year for the The Integrated Support team, incorporating Support for Learning

and Support for Pupils. The HUB, which is a room, staffed by teachers, where pupils are offered

additional support and mentoring has grown from strength to strength. Over 130 pupils applied to

university with the majority being provided with an offer. Many senior pupils took advantage of

courses run by Queen Margaret University and Edinburgh college while other pupils participated in

the JET programme and Career Ready where they had the opportunity to do work placements and

internships. One of the Career Ready pupils reached the final of the STEM award. Many of our

senior phase pupils have enjoyed work experience placements over the last few weeks. Meanwhile

the Mentors in Violence Protection programme continues to develop with S6 pupils trained in the

materials that challenged perceptions about gender based violence. These peer mentors will

deliver sessions to our S1 cohort in the new session. Raising Teens with Confidence sessions were

held in school for some of our parents and were warmly received.

During this session there have been a number of changes to staffing in the department. Mrs

Deborah Hislop was appointed as Support for Learning Leader and Mr Adam Reed, joined the

department as a Teacher of Support for Learning and Inclusion. We gained two new Pupil Support

Assistants - Mrs Liz Baird and Miss Jasmine Ryan. Dedicated teachers and Pupil Support Assistants

have continued to be committed to meeting the needs of our pupils. All members of the

department have developed their skills by participating in curricular professional development and

pupils continue to benefit from the wide range of skills offered by the Support for Learning Team.

Mrs Laura Martin left to go to Queen Anne’s in Fife and we welcomed Mr Scott Rodger as a Support

for Pupil Leader in February.

The department has continued to liaise with the school librarian regarding the S1 Paired Reading

Programme. S6 pupils support the S1 pupils who take part. The early morning spelling sessions

involve pupils from S1 to S6 and continues to be offered three mornings during the week. Pupils

who are committed to this early morning spelling programme continue to make demonstrable

improvement. A range of programmes and courses are offered to support the development of

literacy and numeracy.

Frequent meetings with parents have taken place, when appropriate, throughout the session and

parents have contacted the department when the need has arisen.

We are continuing to strengthen existing links with our Partnership Services and External Agencies

in order to support pupils with additional needs. This session we have liaised closely with Visiting

Teachers Services Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment and Learning, Language and

Communication sharing expertise.

History

The session 2015 – 2016 was very successful for the History Department, not least, with exceptional

examination results at all stages of the

Senior Phase. The department continued to

have large numbers of students selecting to

study History at all levels and have

developed and led on implementing

engaging, student focused lessons including

new courses at Higher and the BGE. Alison

Gallagher has completed a second year as

Teacher Fellow at the University of

Edinburgh this session and will return full

time to the Royal High in August. Jesanna

Gooch continues to bolster the department

and took a key part in the German

Exchange supporting Kate Fraser in this

venture. The German Exchange was, once again, very successful with our partners at the Ludwig-

Frank Gymnasium in Mannheim. A group of 11 S3 pupils visited Mannheim in December. It was a

wonderful time to visit, and when not working on the project, several Christmas markets were

visited. The RHS welcomed the group back just before Easter. The focus was looking at the

treatment of Jews during WW2, the kinder transport programme to Britain and the programme of

enforced sterilisation in Mannheim. It was all student led, involving guided tours and presentations.

It was, yet again, wonderful to see bridges of friendship being created across Europe, a deepening

of cross cultural understanding.

The History department also ran another very successful trip to London and the World War One

battlefields in France and Belgium. In London, students visited the Imperial War Museum and

enjoyed a very interesting walking tour on sites associated with World War One and Two. In France

and Belgium they were immersed in the sights, sounds and stories of the Great War by hearing the

personal stories of soldiers in the sombre cemeteries, visiting the original trenches at Sanctuary

Wood and Newfoundland Park and visiting many memorials and monuments including the mighty

Thiepval on the Somme and Menin Gate in Ypres.

Mathematics Department

The session started with us celebrating a

record number of passes at Higher

Mathematics for the second session in a

row. We were also delighted to see our S4

students continuing to perform well in the

National Mathematics and Lifeskills

Mathematics courses. We are pleased

with the impact that the varied and

engaging tasks used in the mathematics

department are clearly having on pupils’

results in the senior phase.

Higher Maths revision group task

A continuing priority in the faculty has been to ensure that we are using technology effectively,

with staff and students alike gaining experience in using iPads to enhance learning. We are also

looking to retain and further develop links with industry: this included our S5/6 National 5 Lifeskills

students spending a day-long training session at Kames Capital, learning about the finance industry.

With the opening of the outdoor classroom staff have begun looking for opportunities to take

advantage of this resource in the context of mathematics.

National 5 Lifeskills trip to Kames Capital S1 Geometry lesson at outdoor classroom

There have been many changes in staffing this year. In November Darren McKinnon took up a

secondment as Quality Improvement Officer, Neil Tilston has been working as Acting Curriculum

Leader in his place. To cover the teaching load we were lucky to be able to have Rachel Shankland

re-join the department in a full time capacity and Farzanah Ishaque joined us in a part-time capacity

from January. Farzanah Ishaque, Rachel Shankland and Neil Tilston will all be leaving the school at

the end of the session and we wish them every success in the future.

Modern Studies

2015-16 has been another very successful year for the Modern Studies department. It began with

celebrating an excellent set of exam results across the board from National 5 to Advanced Higher

and a very high uptake for this session. The staff have successfully rolled out new courses at Higher

and Advanced Higher as well as preparing for the new Social Subjects enhancement course in S1-2

next year. The department has led on the implementation of active learning strategies, the use of

I-pads and giving effective feedback. Student surveys this year have clearly shown that pupils

thoroughly enjoy their lessons in Modern Studies.

Jenny Reynolds has continued her successful secondment one day a week as Teacher Fellow at

Stirling University and will no doubt continue to share many new teaching and learning strategies

on her return to the department full-time next year.

The staff have also arranged several

trips and outside speakers to enhance

the pupils’ experiences in Modern

Studies. The department sustained

their link with the Law Society of

Scotland with S4 enjoying a session on

Street Law. Gary Snedden arranged a

visit from Steve Young, a former pupil

and a current parent, who spoke about

his experiences onboard the HMS

Vanguard as a Trident Weapons

officer. There is no better lesson in

‘responsible citizenship’ than Steve

discussing the massive responsibility

that was placed on his shoulders as the

person in charge of pulling the

trigger if ordered. Domonic Forbes

also arranged an excellent

transition day for Advanced Higher

pupils with the University of

Edinburgh. This allowed students to

experience university libraries and

the special collections section as

well as undertake a seminar

delivered by a PHD student. Some

pupils were also able to secure

tickets to the last First Ministers

Question time of the 2011

Parliament, this provided them with

the opportunity to see the starting

pistol fired for the Scottish election.

In May 2016 our CL, Kate Fraser, was successful in gaining the temporary post of Depute Head

Teacher at Balerno High School after 17 years of great success at the RHS. Alison Gallagher and

Mairi MacDermot have taken up the acting CL Modern Studies / History post in a job share capacity

until Kate's return.

Health and Wellbeing

It has been an excellent year for the Health & Well Being Faculty at The Royal High. The curriculum

has expanded in both PE & HFTT which has allowed students to experience personalisation, breadth

and choice. The Significant Aspects of Learning are now fully embedded in the S1-S3 BGE

Curriculum and the National Qualifications at Higher Level have been successfully introduced. The

uptake in certificated classes continues to rise which reflects the positive experience that students

receive within the faculty.

We have created a Business in the Community Link with Double Tree by Hilton where many of our

students have experienced a taster career in Hospitality. We have also been working closely with

Sky Sports and their professional athlete mentors to educate many of our students in the life skills

required to reach the top in sport.

The extra-curricular programme is vast with many teachers, coaches and students highly

committed to the progression of the clubs they run. Sport Scotland have recognised the great work

that goes on in the school and we are working towards achieving the Gold Award for our provision.

The sports HUB continues to develop a strong working partnerships have been created with many

local clubs. The Wider Achievement Ceremony was a huge success with students being recognised

for their dedicated work and inspired by our guest speaker Keith Cook, fencer and six times

Commonwealth Games Medalist. The Sports Day was a huge success where there was a healthy,

competitive atmosphere between the nations.

The refurbishment of the faculty has made a huge difference to modernising our changing rooms,

swimming pool and fitness suite which is an on-going project that we are continuing to raise funds

for.

Follow us @rhs_hwb for all the latest success stories and achievements within Health & Well-Being.

Modern Languages

The Modern Languages Department has seen a number of changes this session. Mr Kilerci joined

the department in August, followed by Mrs Mitchell in October. Senior students were supported

by the Foreign Language assistants, Caroline Raible, Laurie Guyard and Ruby Chen.

The Primary 7 Languages Immersion Day took place in September, organised by Mrs Cullen and

Mrs Landsburgh and supported by senior students. In February, senior students attended the SCILT

Business Brunch and also an Edinburgh Council Languages Talk Conference.

S3 pupils enjoyed a careers event in March and Henry Gray from Médecin Sans Frontières also gave

a talk to pupils. We also had a visit from ex-school captain, Robert Bough, who is studying German

and Spanish at Birmingham University and is preparing to spend a year abroad. In March, the

Advanced Higher pupils attended a multi-lingual debate at Heriot Watt and the S2 pupils enjoyed

an action-packed day of activities run by the Goethe Institute.

Finally, during activities week, Miss Welsh led an S3 trip to Paris with the help of Mrs Reynolds, Mr

Serhani, Mr Craig, Mrs Gooch and Mr Forbes. The pupils had wonderful time exploring the sights

for Paris. This involved a visit to the Louvre, a cruise along the Seine and a trip to the Eiffel Tower

a fun-packed day at Euro Disney.

Science

The Science Faculty have enjoyed another very busy and successful year. We have continued to

develop the talents of the young people in our charge and once again attracted them to our classes

in large numbers.

As well as delivering the new Higher and Advanced Higher courses for the first time, we have

developed our S1 and S2 courses. This has seen a new approach to S1 Science involving a greater

degree of pupil self and peer evaluation and some new ways of formative assessment. In line with

whole school development, there has been a strong emphasis on skills development. We are using

our science 'passports’ for a consistent and comprehensive approach across the faculty. In the

senior phase, all pupils now have iPads and are being taught using them, allowing a greater degree

of pupil choice, research work and active learning, as well as some of our courses being delivered

using iTunesU.

The faculty was the first this session to undergo the 'Walkthrough' - an in house appraisal, carried

out by the senior team. Feedback from this and the associated surveys of parents' and pupils' views

of the work of the Faculty is, on the whole, overwhelmingly positive. We have also sought feedback

from parents' evening surveys and pupil questionnaires which is also very positive.

To engage the small cohort of National 4 candidates who did not have exams in the 2015 diet, we

provided the opportunity for them to carry out a set of projects at the end of last session. Several

pupils successfully completed these projects, for which they are to be awarded Bronze Crest

awards. A special thanks goes to Mr Wootton for his invaluable help with this. Pupils across the

year groups have been given the opportunity to take part in varied trips. Some of our S6 biologists

attended an open day at the Royal Vet School, out at Roslin. This was a fabulous chance for aspiring

vets to observe a sheep post mortem, take part in various microscopy and pathology workshops

and to hear from practicing vets about careers in pathology and veterinary medicine. All of our S5

biologists attended a workshop in practical genetics at the National Museum of Scotland – this trip

afforded them the opportunity to

put into practice some of the

molecular biology skills they had

learned about in their Higher

Biology course. The physics

department took all their S3 pupils

to Torness, giving them the

opportunity to see a nuclear

power station in action.

We are a large and diverse

department with staff involved in

a range of wider school remits.

There are several members

involved in Duke of Edinburgh

activities, we have the STEM

ambassador, Student Regent and Outdoor Learning leader. This year has seen the opening of the

outdoor learning classroom, which is now been used by staff and pupils across the school. Former

pupil David Patterson joined us again in November, from St Andrew’s University, to talk to S5

biologists about studying biological sciences at university and possible career pathways. We were

also delighted to welcome Keith Cook and Steve Free (former commonwealth athletes and now

sponsored by Sky Sports) who delivered a motivational talk about their experiences and discussed

the issue of banned substances in sport.

Amongst the strengths of the Science Faculty is the continued effort and enthusiasm of staff to

support young people to achieve accomplishments within and beyond the classroom. We have had

some remarkable successes this year. S6 pupils Hannah Lawrie and Ellie Guillonneau were awarded

a silver crest award for a research project carried out at Edinburgh Zoo, into factors affecting the

swimming activity of

penguins. Our

congratulations goes to

aspiring and committed

scientist Audra Nesbit, S5,

who completed a project as

part of Talent 2030, on

burning leaves to produce

energy. Audra was

accompanied by Miss Maher

to Birmingham where she

presented her findings at the

Talent 2030 conference.

Audra has now been

shortlisted for the Talent

2030 Girls Engineering

competition and the video

she made will be used in classes to teach pupils the equation for calculating the energy produced.

Along with Husnaa Shaukat, Audra has also taken part in the Royal Horticultural Society space seed

challenge. Together, the pair are one of a small number of young people who joined a nationwide

study to compare the growth of seeds stored in space, to those kept here on earth. We wait with

anticipation for the results!

The Faculty have very much appreciated having Miss Danielle Maher with us this session, who

joined us in August, after her probation year at Lornshill Academy. Danielle successfully took over

from Mrs Foster and Mr Davenport to run the Science Club, which has enabled S1 and S2 pupils to

engage in fun activities and experiments. Pupils continue to enthuse about this club which is well

attended and has also provided an excellent opportunity for our senior pupils to support and

mentor their younger peers. We wish Miss Maher all the best as she leaves us to take up a position

at Dunbar Grammar School.

We are delighted with the news that Mrs Foster safely delivered a baby girl, Georgia, in May.

Congratulations to Gillian and Chris! Miss Alison Coleman, currently in her probation year at James

Gillespie’s High School, will join us as her replacement whilst Mrs Foster enjoys her maternity leave.

We also look forward to welcoming Miss Katie Will in the Chemistry department next session. There

will be further change in the Chemistry department in October when Mrs McLernon who is

expecting her second child, is expected to take her maternity leave.

We wish everyone a restful and well deserved holiday and all the very best to those leaving us and

to those pupils who are waiting for exam results.

Parent Council

It has been a busy and challenging year for the Royal High Parent Council, working in partnership

with parents, staff, learners and the wider community.

We’ve enjoyed working together with Mrs Walker in her second year here at RHS, and have

collaborated on a range of ways to increase parental engagement at the school. In addition to

increased communications via the school’s e-mail newsletters, our partnership with the school has

included parental representation in the appointments of senior staff at Curriculum Leader level.

The most challenging period of the year arose with the news of the closure of part of the RHS

building in April. Royal High parents embarked on a raft of campaigning and media appearances in

order to ensure that parental views were central to the debate while a solution was found, not only

for our students due to sit their exams but also for those in the younger years. RHS parents

appeared on BBC network news, BBC Scotland news, Radio 4 and Radio Scotland, and STV News,

and also spoke at length to The Scotsman, The Herald and The Evening News. All of this activity

helped bring about a workable solution which, given some of the alternatives, was welcomed by

the Parent Council. We have expressed in strong terms our anger with the City Council that parents

had to fight to be heard in the early days of the closure. We would much rather have been

expressing views directly to the City Council than using megaphone diplomacy via the media – but

were left with little choice. They have accepted this, and have agreed to learn from what was an

unprecedented situation for them. Following our re-opening, we organised a session at which the

Council Leader and senior education officials were present, open to all parents. And in due course,

we will of course make sure that RHS voices are heard in the forthcoming inquiry into the building

of schools in Edinburgh.

We continued to represent parental views on the development of the curriculum. We welcome

the dialogue undertaken by the school this year, and as a Parent Council are supportive of the new

model which commenced in June 2016.

Beyond the school gates, we have been active in keeping road safety issues (particularly at the back

gate on Queensferry Road) very much on the agenda of local politicians and the police. After much

campaigning, we are still awaiting further site visits to try to resolve what is our longest-running

issue. We also made strong representation regarding the City Council’s proposed education budget

settlement, particularly around music tuition. We do not believe that the teaching of musical

instruments is in any way a “bonus” – it is integral to sitting National 5 and Higher Music, and access

to tuition for all needs to remain available from S1 upwards. While the immediate threat was

removed this year, we ask all parents to keep a watching brief before next year’s Council budget,

both in this area and around potential threats to administrative support services in schools. We

will continue to look for help from all parents and carers on budget matters in the new academic

year.

We have continued to maintain relations with all of our local councillors, our MPs, our old and new

MSPs, the city’s North West Locality Group, the cluster Primary Parent Councils, and the media. We

linked this year with the MPs for Edinburgh West and Edinburgh North & Leith regarding the

charging of VAT on school uniform for older children, and will continue to campaign on this

issue. We also maintain strong links with the RHS FPs, and I thank Frank Crowe (FP Chair who stood

down in the Spring) for his continuing interest in issues which impact on RHS life. I look forward to

working with new Chair David Williamson.

Going into the new year, I would expect the Parent Council to focus on representing parental views

on any issues relating to our building, and the subsequent Council inquiry, of course maintaining

our campaigns regarding road safety and VAT on school uniforms and, I suspect, on the education

budget. We will also continue to work with the school on a range of matters. I would encourage

all parents and carers to keep in touch with us throughout the year, and to join us as a parent rep

if you can. You can find our details on the school’s website.

In closing, I would thank all our parent, staff and co-opted members this year for their time and

commitment to the Parent Council – every parent and carer on the Parent Council gives their time

as a volunteer and it is hugely appreciated. Thanks to Liz Leslie for her excellent work as Clerk this

year. Special thanks to Tina Woolnough, who has volunteered her time to the parental group for

many years, including as former Parent Council Chair, as PSA Chair, and as Edinburgh representative

on the National Parent Forum, and leaves our school community this summer with our very good

wishes.

Luke McCullough

Chair

The Royal High School Parent Council

PSA

The Royal High School Parent/Staff Association had an eventful year which primarily involved two

fundraising events and our ever-popular tuck stalls at key events in the school.

The Christmas Market, featuring craft and home-baking stalls, as well as pupils’ fundraising tables

for their own charitable projects, was a festive and enjoyable occasion again.

For the first time, we were delighted to hold a fundraising Comedy Night, with

parent/comedian/physiotherapist Elaine Miller aka Gussie Gripper as the star attraction. Elaine’s

mission to hold up and save the pelvic floors of the Western world through humour is inspiring,

informative and life-changing. She gave her time freely and generously and we wish her the best of

luck with her Fringe show.

We also run a 200 Club, whereby parents can buy a monthly ticket for £1 to enter into a prize-

winning draw. An easy fundraising win for us is Easyfundraising – please sign up! You do your online

shopping via the Easyfundraising website and a percentage of your spend goes to the PSA, at no

extra cost to you.

The proceeds from our fundraising are allocated to departments and clubs each spring, via an

application process. Bids must be for non-statutory provision only and the PSA focusses on

maximising opportunities for all of our young people.

The PSA committee remains very active - I would like to record my particular thanks to Lisa Erskine,

outgoing treasurer and loyal PSA supporter for many years. Dorothy Kidd kindly runs our 200 Club

and unfailingly turns up to help at events, as do many of our PSA members. Amanda McLeod is the

PSA rep on the parent council and has stepped up to the plate and into the limelight intensively

recently. Our staff rep, Jill Hunter, is our stalwart purveyor of mince pies and now non-alcoholic

mulled wine at the Christmas concert. Many thanks to all of the PSA committee for their fantastic

support and commitment.

We are grateful to all of our parent and pupil volunteers and to those who support our events. This

is my swan song at the Royal High – it has been an extraordinary time and I have outlasted four

head teachers, seen the curriculum and the exam system change, with two children in the old

system and one in the vanguard of the new…Change is always interesting, to say the least. I remain

full of admiration and respect for Pauline Walker, and all the teachers and school staff who give it

their all, every day, and who work tirelessly in the best interests of our children. I would like to

record my thanks and the thanks of the PSA for this commitment which never changes, despite

everything that the Council, national bodies, the Scottish Government and external factors throw

at them.

Children, not adults, should come first in everything our society and our education system does.

As a parent and an adult, I have tried to keep this in mind in everything I have done as a campaigner

for parental involvement in a child-centred education system for nearly 20 years.

The PSA is seeking a new chair and a new treasurer – volunteers gratefully received!

Tina Woolnough, outgoing Chair, PSA

Kristina.woolnough@gmail.com