Kilgraston Scottish Schools Equestrian Championships
On Sunday, Kilgraston School welcomed over 90 girls from 15 schools to Howe Country Centre in Fife to compete in the Kilgraston Scottish Schools Equestrian Championships sponsored by Eastern BMW.
It was a hugely successful day with competitors competing in 4 classes of dressage and show jumping with 19 girls representing Kilgraston.
In Class 1, the 60cm under 12’s class Strathallan came out victorious over all, with Craigclowan coming in second and Ardvreck following in third. Kilgraston’s team of Mischa Steele, Erin McGregor and Flora Allan came in 6th place which was a great team effort with it bring their first attempt at the championships and Flora even competing with her broken wrist!
In Class 2, Perth High took the winning ribbons. Individually, Lucy Sinclair Scott was 2nd in dressage and Alix Stewart Blacker 3rd, and Lucy was 3rd overall in the combined training riding Kilgraston’s own Charlie.
In Class 3, there were 9 teams competing for the 80cm Under 14’s trophy. There were just 6 faults in it but Strathallan came out on top again, with Kilgraston Blue coming in 2nd place. The team consisted of Bernadette McElhinney, Tess Wylie, Connie Wang and Kyla Grieve. In 3rd place was Ardvreck. Olivia Grant was 1st in Arena A’s dressage and Kyla was 3rd, and Bernadette won Arena B’s dressage. Bernadette also took home the sash for combined training individual which tops off the super weekend for Bernadette as she also qualified for the Royal International Horse Show on the same pony Synod Leuan on Saturday.
In Class 4, Kilgraston came out on top beating The Mary Erskine school into 2nd place with a team made up of Anna Smallwood, Muriel Pym, Daisy Galbraith and Alannah Greive. Anna also took home the sash for individual combined training with her pony Johnny.
Well done to everyone who competed and supported the event. A big thank you to Eastern BMW who sponsored the Championships and donated some fantastic prizes.
Queen's 90th Birthday - Mass
During assembly on Thursday morning, the girls and staff celebrated the Queen’s 90th birthday. The celebrations continued into the afternoon as a special mass was held to mark the choir’s visit to the Vatican in February. Bishop Robson and Monsignor Drysdale were in attendance along with St. Dominic’s Primary School, Crieff.
Kilgraston Piano Recital
Tickets by donation are now available for the Kilgraston Piano Recital on Friday 29th April at St John’s Kirk from Reception.
Jenny's dazzling performance at Perth Concert Hall
Last weekend, Jenny Whitaker stepped into a leading role at the Perth Youth Orchestra’s annual concert in Perth Concert Hall having impressed adjudicators at recent auditions.
On the night, Jenny performed the Andante from Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb. She was also presented with the D. Eoin Bennet Soloist Award.
Jenny is also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland where she is the only female trumpet player.
Well done Jenny.
Easter Term Newsletter
The Easter Term newsletter is now available to view online through the following link:
https://issuu.com/kilgrastonschool/docs/eastertermnewsletter
Alternatively, you can download it by clicking here.
Young Musician Competition
Congratulations to all of the performers at the Young Musician Competition. The overall Young Musician was Iona Godfrey-Faussett. Winner of the Grade 8+ category was Yoyo Cheung on piano, Grade 6/7 was Jenny Whitaker on trumpet, Grade 3/5 Pippa Boyle on piano, Senior Prep was Isabel Gilmore-Heezen on cello and Junior Prep was Lily MacNamara on cello.
There were some excellent comments from adjudicator Āstmar Olafsson who was most impressed with the quality of performances.
Well done girls!
Equestrian Success
On Saturday, 3 riding teams headed to Highfield at Howe in Fife for Strathallan’s Team Show Jumping Competition.
In Class 1 (60cm), we came team 2nd with Flora Allan taking individual 3rd. In Class 2, the 70cm we came team 2nd again with Olivia Grant taking individual 2nd and in Class 3 (85cm), we came team 1st! Poppy Currie finished individual 2nd after leading all through the class then went onto jump in the 1m Class as an individual coming 4th. A huge well done to the girls, you all rode brilliantly and looked so smart, it was a great warm up for the Kilgraston Championships.
Teams –
Class 1 - Mischa Steele, Belinda Lindsay, Erin McGregor, Flora Allan
Class 2 – Issie Jeffrey, Flora Allan, Kyla Greive, Olivia Grant
Class 3 – Poppy Currie, Issie Jeffrey, Anna Smallwood, Olivia Grant
Zoe and Sasha Niven were also competing for the school at the NSEA Arena event at the Ian Stark Equestrian Centre in Selkirk. Sasha finished 2nd in her class and has qualified for the National Schools Equestrian Championship in October. Zoë had a nice round with an unlucky pole so not placed.
On Sunday, Issie Jeffrey continued her winning streak with winning the 75cm Class X-Country Pick a Fence at Foresterseat, Glenfarg.
Well done again to all involved.
Perth Festival Success
Congratulations to Kilgraston Musicians at the Perth Festival.
Iona Godfrey-Faussett gained 92 marks for her Woodwind recital, the Chamber Ensemble gained 90 marks and the Madrigal Group also gained 90 - Honours results. The Reception - Lower 1st choir won and the L2/U2 choir were second.
Well done and thank you to all the parents for their excellent support as always.
Supporting TEWA Charity
After months of sitting in anticipation, Kilgraston parent Crispian Cook received confirmation that his application to run the London Marathon on Sunday 24th April had been successful.
Mr Cook was selected through a ballot application so did not have a charity assigned to him but after careful consideration he asked the girls of Kilgraston School to nominate a charity.
And this is where the journey begins…
12 months last Autumn 12 girls at Kilgraston School signed up for the adventure of a lifetime: a trip to Nepal with World Challenge to trek in the foothills of the Himalayas and project work within local schools and villages. Then in April of 2015 the devastating earthquake that killed over 8,000 people meant that the trip was now more than an adventure. It is to be a much bigger undertaking that will find the girls rebuilding schools and houses and through this also helping to rebuild the lives of the many thousands who have had their homes and lives destroyed.
One of the main charities supporting the Nepalese population is ‘Tewa’, an organisation founded by women for the benefit of women and girls throughout Nepal. Life for women and girls in Nepal is not easy, education is sparse and women are definitely at the lowest end of the poverty chain. Tewa looks to change this by supporting and helping women to fund projects that will help their community and allow them to become self-sufficient. Being an all-girls school Kilgraston strongly supports the right for all girls to have an education no matter where they live or what they believe in.
Sophie Jacobs, who is one of the members of the expedition and will be staying on in Nepal to volunteer with Tewa, said “Education should be a fundamental right for all children, not only girls, but more and more it is girls who seem to be discriminated against and that to us is both unjust and unacceptable. We were ecstatic when Mr Cook approached us, and very grateful for him offering to help us fundraise for Tewa. It is now our turn to raise awareness of this wonderful charity and help Mr Cook raise as much as possible. We would like to ask for your support in helping us do this. This will be the first time Tewa has had somebody representing them in the London Marathon so it is important for us as a school and a community to make this a success.”
How you can donate:
Cheques can be sent to Kilgraston School, Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, PH2 9BQ. They should be made payable to the ‘Kilgraston School Trust’ and marked clearly on the back ‘TEWA’.
Cash donations to be sent in the same way again clearly identified as support for TEWA.
Bank Transfer:
Account name: Kilgraston School Trust
Bank: Royal Bank of Scotland
Account Number: 10292715
Sort Code: 83-47-00
Reference: TEWA
Your support is greatly appreciated and we would like to wish Mr Cook the best of luck on Sunday 24th April.
Perth Youth Orchestra
Last week, Perth Youth Orchestra held auditions from among its own ranks to select the soloists who will perform at its concerts over the coming months. Our very own, Jenny Whitaker (trumpet) succeeded in impressing the adjudicators and now has just three weeks before she steps into her new leading role, at the orchestra’s Annual Concert, on Sunday 10th April, in Perth Concert Hall.
Jenny, is also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland where she is its only female trumpet player. She started learning the cornet at the age of 8, adding the trumpet to her repertoire three years later. Jenny is also a talented singer and pianist. At weekends she attends the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), in Glasgow, where she enjoys drama and musical theatre. But, inspired by the meteoric career of Alison Balsom, Jenny is taking her trumpet playing to the highest level and plans to pursue the instrument professionally.
Jenny’s trumpet tutor at Kilgraston, Mr Tom Smith, said, “Based on her natural talent, skill and perseverance I believe she would be an ideal candidate for the National Youth Orchestra this year and also has the potential to be considered for both the BBC Young Musician and Young Brass Musician Awards”.
Full article - http://www.perth-youth-orchestra.org.uk/2016-soloists/
Photo Credit - Andrew Mitchell