World Teachers’ Day 2021 - thank you
Today we’re celebrating World Teachers’ Day 2021, an annual celebration of people who spend their lives teaching and educating others.
At Kilgraston, our wonderful teachers support, teach and encourage our pupils to fulfill their hopes, ambitions and dreams, pushing them to believe in themselves and to achieve outstanding exam results year after year.
Lockdown meant our teaching moving online in a matter of days, with classes running as normal and, even if we were not in the school buildings, the Kilgraston education continued. Our Junior School timetable included morning lessons where pupils joined their class via TEAMS and an energising calendar of events and challenges in the afternoon alongside that all important down-time.
Our Seniors and Sixth Form, who faced those crucial life-defining exams, were able to attend classes virtually with a timetable of 80% of normal classes taking place in the first lockdown. This moved to 100% of classes in the subsequent lockdowns, a monumental achievement by our staff.
We all met at our virtual assemblies each week and our PE department continued to motivate our pupils, running daily classes online alongside weekly challenges including bike rides and mountain climbing. Our music department even managed to ensure events did not stop, but adapted and shifted, culminating in our annual Christmas performance becoming a drive-in film in lieu of our usual live event in Perth’s Concert Hall.
World Teachers’ Day is a day recognised by UNESCO and has been held since on October 5 1994, so this year, we would like to say an even bigger thank you to Kilgraston teaching staff, and indeed all teachers around the world for the vital role and work you do.
Open Day - October 2021
Kilgraston was delighted to welcome families to our latest in-school open day, the first since February 2020. The event ran in tandem with a virtual event which allowed families from all over the world to join us without stepping on a plane.
Classes ran as a normal school day with pupils attending lessons, the theme of which was the environment, which is important to the Kilgraston ethos, and you can read more about this here.
The rain did not dampen spirits, and visitors enjoyed tours of our first class facilities including our onsite equestrian centre.
Thank you to all families for coming to Kilgraston, we very much hope you enjoyed your visit, and thank you to all staff and pupils.
In case you missed this event, you can watch it again here.
National squad hockey success for Kilgraston pupil
Lower Sixth’s Lexie has had a phenomenal summer playing for Scotland under 17 squad, winning three caps in a matter of months. Lexie, who has been playing hockey for seven years, plays for a number of hockey squads including Perthshire’s First XI team.
She said: “This year has been a great year for my hockey. I started of going to trial out for a regional team called Dundee Devils. I was really thankful to be selected for this and I was made captain of the team.
“Then, at the start of the summer holidays, I was scouted to play for Scotland and over summer I played for Scotland against England in Leeds, then again for Scotland against Wales where I scored two goals at the School Games. At the end of the holidays, Scotland played in a tournament called Futures cup in St Albans, near London and we won the bronze medal and that meant I won my third cap for Scotland all in the space of a few months.”
But when it comes to sport, Lexis does not just shine at hockey, she also has superb tennis skills and has also played District netball. She said: “I play tennis for my club and have played for north of Scotland.
“The tennis facilities at Kilgraston are amazing with two different types of courts and a very hard working and dedicated coach. Last year I also played netball for Perth and District but I struggled to fit everything in so I had to drop netball at this level but I’m looking forward to playing for the school.”
In the future Lexie would like to continue to her sport. She said: “I would like to go to university and do something sport related but I’m not quite sure at the moment. The school have wonderful facilities to accommodate hockey, from our all-weather pitch to the gym in the PE department and the hockey coaches initially with Mrs Stott and now with Mr Stott, have all helped me on this journey.”
Amazing work Lexie, we are all so proud of you.
Macmillan Coffee Morning 2021
Kilgraston has participated in the Macmillan Coffee Morning 2021, to raise money for cancer support. This year was a massive success raising over £400. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported the event, by baking or donating. A massive thanks to Upper Sixth’s Sana the community and charity prefect for organising this event, alongside School Secretary Mrs Harrison and Head of English Ms Hall who also contributed greatly. Thanks also to Kilgraston’s in-house catering team, Inspire, for their delicious hot chocolate and to all the bakers who provided the delicious treats. Sana is looking forward to more charity events that Kilgraston can be a part of, including our upcoming charity week.
Kilgraston has supported many different charities in recent years and you can find out more about them here
Isla, Upper Sixth, Marketing Prefect
Making Kilgraston’s environmental concerns front page news
Scotland will host the global Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) - when leaders from around the world gather to discuss environmental pressures and solutions - during the first fortnight of November 2021.
However, environmental awareness already preoccupies life at Kilgraston School, the pupils’ impressive ‘Save the Planet’ mural awarded front cover space in this month’s Independent Schools Magazine (front,p3&8).
27.9.21
Kilgraston Cross Country 2021
Welcome to Kilgraston Cross Country 2021 event which we were delighted to see back in its usual format of the whole School running together.
It is the first of our House events with those all-important House points to be won. It is always a colourful and cheerful event and this year, thanks to Upper Sixth, we were even joined by a bunch of bananas and a few dinosaurs.
The sun seems to always shine for the Kilgraston Cross Country and after Miss Patton had concluded an energetic warm-up, the runners lined up at the start line before Mrs MacGinty signalled the start of the race.
It was fast and furious for some round the track and it was looking extremely close to call in places.
Well done to everyone who took part but huge congratulations to Upper Sixth’s Poppy for her first place, closely followed by Upper Fifth’s Greta in second and Lower Four’s Ishbel in third. In the Junior School, huge well done to Lower Second’s Conall for his superb and speedy first place.
Finally, thanks Mrs Ferry for all her organisation.
Women and Business - Clootie McToot
Tradition dictates
“They used to fill-up socks, tea-towels, even bloomers,” Michelle Maddox told Kilgraston’s surprised senior pupils, “then they boiled them for hours on the fire!”
The inspirational owner of Clootie McToot was describing the history of Clootie Dumplings (rich, traditional Scottish fruit puddings) and her own entrepreneurial journey, as part of the School’s Women and Business lecture series: “It’s been a rollercoaster,” said the busy mum and businesswoman, “from making everything in the family’s utility room, we now employ fourteen staff in a professional kitchen.”
Small beginnings
Starting just five years’ ago – inspiration came after her son’s appeal for edible donations for a Christmas school fete - Michelle’s traditional Clootie Dumplings sell like hot-cakes, exports reaching North America and Germany: “I was brought-up making them,” explained Michelle, “it was a family tradition and now we use my granny’s very own recipe, it’s the company’s unique selling point.”
Thankfully, these days, the ‘cloot’ (Scottish for cloth) is tailor-made for the job in borders town, Kelso, with no-one, Michelle assured, losing their underwear in the process.
Initially involved with the London food industry, immediately before starting Clootie McToot, Michelle was employed in the community grant application field, however, sales success at her son’s stall soon had her thinking: “I handed in my notice the next day!”
Expansion planning
Based in Perthshire’s Abernethy village, the business consists of a busy café, training kitchen, subscriber demonstrations and tasting sessions, together with a thriving shop and online retailer. Expansion plans are in the pipeline: “Spring 2022 will see a much bigger café and kitchen, allowing 24/7 production,” Michelle explained.
The need to be flexible and nimble in business, coping with unexpected obstacles and continually looking to diversify, was a recurring theme: “You’re always learning,” she explained, “For instance, fresh dumplings have a shelf-life of 21 days, which can be difficult for stockists, so we came up with the idea of a clootie kit, where you get all the dry ingredients, muslin cloth and string, just adding butter, milk, egg and an apple at home.”
This new product increased lifespan to a year, making stocking far more attractive to retailers: high-street giants John Lewis soon adopting the dumplings. Additionally, lockdown saw a huge spike in home-cooking interest, offering clootie kits the perfect chance to shine: “We went from making 200 to 1,500 a week.”
Michelle described how she’d learnt the importance and power of great social media, constantly adding to the brand’s story, discussing new ingredients and developments and always responding to comments: “We’d established a very active digital shop and loyal customer base, proving an absolute lifeline when Covid arrived.”
Highs and lows
Pupils were fascinated to learn about Clootie’s branding, the whole family initially having had input. But the need to redesign became obvious when one outlet stated that they loved the product, but not the logo: “I was a bit hurt by that one,” said Michelle. However, taking it on the chin, a branding expert was enlisted - a new subtle colour palette decided – with the family’s original design always making a small guest appearance “to remind us what we’re about.”
Concluding her talk, the entrepreneur reiterated how much of a juggling act running your own business is: “Every day is about balancing responsibilities,” she told girls, “it is immensely rewarding, but you do have to be prepared to accept risk, the fear of failure is always there.”
Women and Business
The Women and Business programme, together with the dynamic Unifrog careers platform, are just part of Kilgraston’s dedicated curriculum, ensuring every pupil has the very best industry insight and future opportunity. The School is passionate about encouraging business enterprise among pupils, with a group of girls recently winning a Young Enterprise Awards.
Kilgraston would like to extend its thanks to Michelle for taking the time to speak with the girls.
13.9.21
Coping with Covid- TES reports Kilgraston School’s approach
Pupils returned to Kilgraston School’s Autumn Term, 2021, having lived with Covid 19 for a year and a half.
Noticing how this experience manifested itself in the youngsters’ approach to the pandemic, Headteacher Dorothy MacGinty has written about the old adage of a ‘problem shared is a problem halved’ in newspaper, TES.
“The seriousness of the disease is still very much emphasised,” she notes, “but with the reassurance that there is less likelihood of hospitalisation.”
Continuing, Mrs MacGinty comments: “So many more girls have the shared experience of knowing someone who has had Covid – or perhaps even having experienced it themselves – that they now have their own story to tell and discuss; the common bond (facing the enemy, if you like) is a lot less frightening. With the help of the school’s mental health ambassadors, discussion of guilt or concern is commonplace and encouraged both in and out of the classroom.”
The full Times Educational Supplement article can be read here
6.9.21
Kilgraston Headteacher debates mobile phone bans in The Spectator magazine
Compulsory school mobile phone bans are currently the subject of fierce parliamentary debate.
Dorothy MacGinty, Headteacher of Kilgraston - the first UK school to make the move - writes in the current edition of The Spectator magazine, arguing that, while imposition has been a good move, it needs to come from individual schools, not the Government: “Pupils must learn for themselves that there is life beyond their mobile phone. A heavy hand from above is not the way to do this.”
Since introducing on-campus mobile restrictions, in August 2018, Kilgraston has witnessed a sharp improvement in pupils’ attention-span, general concentration, peer interaction and body language: “I would love to be able to present solid evidence that the removal of mobiles directly correlated with improved exam results, but that’s a tricky one to quantify,” comments MacGinty, “As any head teacher will tell you,” she continues, “results ebb and flow. But what we did notice was that subversive screen-checks became increasingly passé, similar to the historical puff behind the bike shed.”
The Spectator’s full article can be read here while yourself considering the debate…
2.9.21
Increased interest in rural boarding schools
The pandemic has seen many people rethink their lifestyle, looking at alternative working arrangements and, where possible, seeking-out more spacious living accommodation.
Education has also been upper-most in the minds of many parents and guardians, rural boarding schools subsequently witnessing a huge spike in interest, especially from those in urban areas.
Writing about the trend in this month’s Independent Schools Magazine, Headteacher Dorothy MacGinty notes that the “domestic boarding market has seen a remarkable upsurge.”
Read the full article (page six, which also features the recent Scotland’s Boarding Schools event) here
Kilgraston has ten all-weather tennis courts and its own on-site Equestrian Centre
25.8.21