Gleneagles Equestrian Championships
The 2014 Kilgraston Scottish Schools Equestrian Championships were held at Gleneagles at the weekend, attracting over 100 competitors who contested the twentieth anniversary of the competition.
Twenty schools from all over Scotland converged on Gleneagles - from Kelso High and Morebattle Primary in the Borders to Robert Gordon’s in Aberdeen and Wellington School from Ayr.
Entrants fielded either team or individual entries to contest the three age groups of 12 and under, 14 and under and 15 and over. Each section is split into combined training, dressage and show jumping with both individual and team places to compete for.
The day started with the youngest riders in the 12 and under age group. It was a clean sweep for the Glasgow Academy riders in the team competition who won all three phases (Combined Training, Dressage and Show Jumping). Coming a close second was Kilgraston who squeezed Ardvreck into third place by just one point. In the team jumping Ardvreck reversed these placings to finish second in the team jumping. Kilgraston’s A team of Bernadette McElhinney, Jemima Cross, Millie Wilson and Anna Smallwood took third place.
Kilgraston School’s 14 and under team of Grace Reilly (pictured), Heather Halley, Zoe Niven and Daisy Foniciello were delighted to celebrate the twentieth running of the event with a win in both the Combined Training and Dressage sections.
Individually Zoe Niven and Grace Reilly were third in their arenas for both Combined Training and Dressage. Strathallan A were runners-up in the team competition for these sections, with Robert Gordon’s in third for CT. Strathallan B took the third place slot in the Dressage.
Show Jumping was especially dramatic with many riders falling foul of fence three, the planks. Robert Gordon’s had a fantastic team score of just four faults to secure the team win, with Kilgraston’s Zoe Niven posting the fastest time of the day to take the individual Show Jumping title.
In the senior (15 and over) section it was George Heriot’s who came to the fore in both Combined Training and Show Jumping with Strathallan taking the Dressage phase.
Kim Seaton, Kilgraston’s Equestrian Manager, said: “Once again I was delighted to welcome so many competitors from around the country. As always the show continued to be held in a warm and friendly atmosphere and attract a high standard across all sections. I’d like to thank all of the participating schools for coming and also our sponsors Knight Frank for their continued support.”
Many thanks to Adrian Sinclair (www.sinclairphotography.co.uk) for his beautiful photos of the day - more are available to view and buy via the website.
Youth Choir success
Kilgraston L6 pupil Sarah Anderson has successfully auditioned for the National Youth Choir of Scotland, after singing last year with the National Girls Choir at the Edinburgh Festival and at the BBC’s Christmas Carol Concert.
The National Youth Choir of Scotland was established in 1996 to provide opportunities for young people, teachers and choir directors to support and develop choral singing across Scotland.
Sarah is particularly pleased to make the transition from the Girls choir to the Youth choir based on the quality of her voice and ahead of many music students with greater sight-reading experience. Once all her Higher exams are finished, Sarah - who holds a Music scholarship at Kilgraston - is hoping to cram in some extra sight-reading study before attending a residential course with the choir at Merchiston Castle school in July.
It’s a busy time for Sarah as she has also been selected to be a Queen’s Baton Bearer in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games. In addition, she recently celebrated her sixteenth birthday by completing an epic bike ride of 216 miles around Scotland with her father to raise over £1,000 for local charity Mary’s Meals.
Kilgraston’s Director of Music Andrew McGarva said: “I am delighted that Sarah has been selected for Scotland’s foremost Youth Choir. She is a talented girl who performs in our Choir, Madrigal Group and also this year’s school production of Calamity Jane and for her talents to be recognised nationally is a wonderful achievement.”
Annabel's mini marathon success
Easter term - reflections
As the spring term draws to a close, Carol Ann Lund, our Principal (Acting) reflects on the past few months:
We have celebrated excellent achievements across the school this term. The Upper Sixth have continued to receive unconditional offers from universities including St Andrews and Edinburgh. Several pupils have conditional offers from Cambridge and Oxford and Brianna Lin has been awarded a scholarship by The University of British Columbia. In Music our Kilgraston Young Musician of the Year, Victoria Yeung, went on to win the award for the top string performer at Perthshire Music Festival. Perform in Perth also saw some excellent results with performances by a number of very talented Kilgraston pupils in both speech and music classes. Our sportswomen have excelled at school and national level with pupils representing Scotland in vaulting , running, hockey and netball
An excellent example of this years goal of Social Awareness was the Upper Fourth completion of the YPI ( Youth Philanthropy Initiative). Tutor groups researched and visited a local charity and then made a case for a fund of £3000 awarded by the Wood Family Trust. In the end all charities have benefited both from the awareness raising of the event and the decision by Senior School Houses to adopt each charity for the next academic year. Upper Third girls responded positively in their Junior Enterprise Project, helping to raise £1,000 for Mary’s Meals, a charity which provides children with a daily meal in school in places where hunger is an obstacle to gaining an education.
The Summer term is always busy, with events such as the Prep and Senior Productions, Sports Day and Prize Giving. The Prep School also opens it doors on Sunday 11th May. The Fun day combines a chance for our local community to enjoy the bouncy castles and pet show alongside charity and craft stalls with an opportunity to tour the school.
We welcome back Mrs Stewart from her maternity leave and thank Mrs Arbuthnott for her work in the Business Studies department. Mr Van Rooyen will joins us as our new Tennis Coach: Highly qualified, his previous school experience includes coaching at Wycombe Abbey School Buckinghamshire. On behalf of the school I thank Mr Frank Thompson for his contribution to maintaining the academic standards and community life of the school. I wish Frank and his family well in their new ventures. Applications for the Principal’s position will be assessed toward the end of April.
Commonwealth Baton Relay
Three members of our Kilgraston community are celebrating today after being selected as Baton Bearers in the Glasgow 2014 Queen’s Baton Relay. Pupils Helen Gloistein and Sarah Anderson, and Director of Sport Pauline Stott have all been recognised for the role they play in inspiring others in their community.
Sixth Former Sarah Anderson (pictured) was nominated for the honor by Kilgraston, where she holds academic, music and sport scholarships. A talented singer, she performs at both school and in the wider community, as well as being featured on the BBC as part of the National Youth Choir’s Christmas Carol programme. Sarah also finds time to raise money for charity, recently celebrating her 16th birthday by completing an epic bike ride of 216 miles around Scotland with her father to raise over £1,000 for local charity Mary’s Meals.
Helen Gloistein is a mentor and role model to the younger girls at Kilgraston, and in 2013 was awarded the school’s Gordon Cup for Personal Endeavour in the Upper School. Helen is Kilgraston’s ski captain, and has achieved the Saltire ‘Ascent’ award for completing over 200 hours of volunteering.
Double Hockey Olympian Pauline Stott, who represented GB in the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, now inspires thousands of girls and young women in her role as our Director of Sport. On the news that she will be among those chosen to represent the Commonwealth in the relay, Pauline said “We are all absolutely delighted to be selected to carry the Queen’s baton in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games. The chance to be part of such a special occasion will be remembered forever and we are really looking forward to the day””.
Sports presentations
Kilgraston girls who have shown commitment to sport were honoured this week during special assemblies in both the Prep and Senior Schools.
Leading the way in the Prep School were Ellie Stott and Michaela McCarthy who were awarded full colours for both netball and hockey. The two girls were selected this academic year for WOSPS – the West of Scotland Prep Schools team – in both sports.
Lower 4th Hockey Captain, Emilia Thompson, also received full colours along with Joni Dalrymple in recognition of their selection to the WOSPS hockey team last term.
For skiing, Daisy and Jemima Cross, Tess Wylie and Pippa Boyle picked up full colours. The girls broke new ground recently with their recent team triumph in the Scottish Prep Schools Ski Championships. The team of four took gold after recording the best combined time. There were further accolades for Prep ski captain, Jemima, as she secured gold in the under 11 individual girls race and older sister, Daisy, also won a silver medal in the under 13 girls’ competition.
In the senior school, sixteen girls who have represented the school’s first team at hockey were awarded full colours. They included: Grace Thomson, Georgina Chalmers-Gray, Susie Morton, Claire Carey, Katie Robertson, Katie Stott, Louisa Thomson, Annabel Beale, Rebecca Norval, Robyn Johnson, Iona McKenzie, Ailsa Edwards, Sunita Fairley, Anna Prising, Eliza Younger and Millie Macdonough.
Ten girls received netball colours for having played for the school’s first team five times. They included: Georgina Chalmers-Gray, Zara Collings, Sunita Fairley, Libby Marshall, Sarah Cheape, Rachel Menzies, Claire Carey, Rebecca Norval, Mia Menzies and Rebecca Hubbard.
There were also honours for those who have performed at a high level in individual sports. Hannah Edgley received full colours for swimming and Annabel Simpson for athletics.
Glasgow's Science Centre
The girls from the Lower and Upper Third enjoyed a trip to Glasgow’s Science Centre last week. They spent a hands on, interactive day learning about all things Science; from learning about the human body to understanding forces to letting their imaginations run wild in the Be Creative, Be Innovative zone.
The trip to the IMAX cinema to watch a 3D film about the 2009 space expedition to repair the Hubble telescope wowed them with an insight into understanding space and a session in the planetarium showed them a little of what there is to see in the sky on a clear night.
Inter District Tennis Team Championships
A trio of Kilgraston girls hope to follow in Andy Murray’s footsteps after being selected to play in the Scottish Inter District Tennis Team Championships.
Emilia Thompson and sisters Arietta and Alexa Manganiello will represent Tayside at the six-day competition held over two weekends next month.
The girls, all sports scholars, will take on the best players in Scotland in their age group, starting on Friday 4th April. They will be competing on home ground in the same competition where Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray and his older brother, Jamie, cut their teeth as tennis playing youngsters.
The girls were chosen for the Tayside team following a series of trials in Dundee that brought together the most talented players in the district.
They followed up their selection with a victory over the North East in a challenge match in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen earlier this month. Emilia (Lower 4th) and Alexa (Upper 3rd) won all five rubbers for the girls Under 13 team including two singles each and a doubles. Arietta, (Lower 5th) who was selected for the Under 17 side, also won her matches.
Robin Nisbet, Tayside District Head Coach, said: “Arietta, Emilia and Alexa have worked really hard at their tennis this year. Their selection to the Tayside District team is a testament to the hours of practice they put into their game each week. I was very impressed with the girls’ performance at the recent challenge match against the North East. It was great to see the girls working well as a team and supporting each other both on and off the court. I think they’re great role models for Kilgraston and they integrated well with the rest of the Tayside team. I know they’re enjoying using the school’s facilities to practise together. I hope other girls in the area will be inspired by their success.”
The Dundee-based LTA performance coach said the girls are part of a 16-strong squad of eight boys and eight girls and will be taking on teams from throughout Scotland during the Inter District Championships.
Robin added: “Tennis is a great game for girls to be involved in and brings enjoyment on many levels whether it’s played competitively or for fun. It’s fantastic that Kilgraston has fielded three players for this year’s team and I hope to see more talented girls coming through the school’s tennis academy in the next few years.”
Kilgraston’s Director of Sport, Pauline Stott, said: “It’s wonderful to see hard work paying off for Arietta, Emilia and Alexa. They’re dedicated to tennis and to represent your district in any sport is very impressive. This is an extremely proud moment for them and we wish the girls all the best in the forthcoming season.”
Charity dinner success
A group of Kilgraston girls cooked up a feast for charity with the help of a top chef.
Bethany Smith, Lexi Young, Emily Belford and Lara Melville prepared a mouth watering two-course meal with Tim Dover, head chef and owner of The Roost restaurant in Kintillo.
The girls from Upper Fourth were chosen to work alongside Tim after impressing him with their culinary skills during a cookery contest.
Tim, a classically trained Michelin chef and a 2012 finalist on Channel 5’s Kitchen Wars series, agreed to host a charity meal attended by parents and staff to give the girls a real hands-on experience of life in a busy restaurant.
Sixth formers Emma Garrett and Zara Collings were waitresses for the evening, serving up scotch lamb followed by ginger crème brulee, poached rhubarb and lavender shortbread.
The girls made £100 profit on the night for the Dundee-based charity Dreamz4u, which helps to grant hundreds of wishes each year for sick and disabled children.
Kilgraston’s Head of Home Economics, Carole Clarke, said: “The evening at The Roost was a wonderful opportunity for the girls to see what goes on behind the scenes in a top restaurant. It’s the fourth year we’ve had the chance to send girls to work in the restaurant. One of girls who took part last year has now decided she’d like to become a chef and she worked in the restaurant last summer to get more experience.”
This year’s students were all finalists in Kilgraston’s Upper Fourth Chef Competition. The winner of the contest was Bethany Smith with stuffed chicken and haggis in a creamy whisky sauce. Bethany faced tough competition from runner up Lexi Young and Emily Belford and Lara Melville whose tasty dishes also scored top marks.
The final four were chosen from 10 finalists who had come through three class heats involving 37 girls.
Mrs Clarke revealed: “We had lots of fish, beef and lamb dishes. It all got very competitive with some of the girls practising hard at home as well as school. It was a fantastic experience for the girls who learnt how to work independently as well as researching local produce. They also had to combine flavours and learn which ingredients went best together.”
Mary Modeen visit
When an artist discusses her work, does she mention the invisible? Or does she assume that you see what you will see, regardless of words or the intention behind them?
Addressing these questions, Mary Modeen visited Kilgraston on 17th March and spoke to senior school girls about her artworks. These works have been on exhibit in Edinburgh at the Printmakers Gallery for the last two months in a show entitled The Absolutely Other. She spoke about the nature of perception itself as well. Her talk included aspects of the psychology of perception, and the philosophical assumptions that lie beneath what one sees. She showed how her art addresses memory and places that merge in dream-like states. And in her artists books, she discussed how poetry and art came together, moving in what she called a pas de deux.
Modeen is the Course Director for the Master of Fine Arts postgraduate course at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee.
Many thanks to Mary for such an inspiring and insightful talk, which was so enjoyed by the girls.