Women and Business welcomes medical Professor to Kilgraston School
Women and Business - leading ladies
The School’s series of talks has, so far, hosted specialists from the fields of accountancy, law, journalism and private enterprise. Future visits include a Professor of Stem Cell research, the Commercial Director of Gleneagles, an engineer with SSE and a leading orthodontist.
Lectures give senior school pupils the opportunity to hear, first hand, from industry experts, while also being given the chance to speak to them on a one-to-one basis.
Medically minded
Prof Ibbotson spoke to pupils about the route her career had taken, including a spell as a Harvard Medical School Research Fellow in Boston, where she conducted photochemistry research: “Take every opportunity,” she told the 80 pupils, “During my medical student days and career, I’ve spent time studying and working in Sydney, Vancouver and even Bermuda, where I had the chance to focus on paediatrics.”
Initially attending Leeds Medical School - qualifying with a first class honours degree in biochemistry and honours in her medical degree - Prof Ibbotson also completed a postdoctoral thesis in blood clotting disorders and diabetes: “I had wonderful mentors there who sparked my interests in blood clotting and leg ulcers and, ultimately, led to my specialism in dermatology.”
Moving back to Newcastle, the Professor took up postgraduate dermatology training, developing an interest in the effects of sunlight on the skin, where there was “lots of dedicated research into the effects of different wavelengths of light on the diagnosis and treatment of different types of skin diseases.”
Clearly still very passionate about her profession, Prof Ibbotson explained her research into light and skin to the girls, for example describing how pharmaceutical industries have requirements to investigate how drugs may interact with UV light on the skin and that the Photobiology Unit at Dundee University carried out research in this field: “Many drugs are light-sensitising and need to be thoroughly investigated,” she told the audience, “we also specialise in photodynamic therapy, a treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer and sun damage, which combines a drug that makes cells sensitive to light with exposure to visible light.”
Careering ahead
The audience, many of whom were considering a medical career, learnt about necessary undergraduate qualifications. At Dundee University, assessment is based on school exam results, UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test) and MMI interview.
“Medicine is very competitive, with approximately one in ten applicants being offered a place” explained Prof Ibbotson, “that’s the bad news! But the good news is that it is an extremely rewarding career and there are lots of options regarding career choices with a medical degree, along with a 100% graduate employment rate.”
One Sixth Form pupil, who has been offered places to read Medicine at four Scottish universities, also addressed the girls: “I approached my GP practice and was given a few days’ work experience,” she said, “But also, I kept being told how important ‘soft skills’ were so I’ve found taking my Higher Drama very helpful with communication.”
At the end of the lecture, pupils quizzed the Professor on various routes through a medical career, including general practice, medical and surgical specialties and one enquiry regarding plastic surgery: “There are some very focussed young ladies here.”
The next generation
As well as being the Head of the Photobiology Unit at Dundee University, the Professor told pupils that she continues with research and teaching,particularly enjoying her involvement with the undergraduate medical student programme.
“Early in my career, I was lucky enough to be mentored very well,” she concluded, “so it is always a complete pleasure to offer guidance to the next generation of medical enthusiasts.”
Kilgraston School was very privileged to have welcomed Professor Ibbotson.
A packed house at Kilgraston School for Professor Ibbotson’s lecture on 13 March 2020
The Times spots Kilgraston’s preloved fashion zipping ahead
Dress sense
In a bid to reduce the annual 300,000 tonne tally of textiles that end-up in landfill, girls were, this year, encouraged to think differently about their outfits: a ‘preloved’ ball gown swap-shop was established.
“Just after Christmas, staff and pupils were asked to donate,” said Head, Dorothy MacGinty, who will herself wear her own mother’s vintage astrakhan coat and black, velvet, dress. The Head is a great fan of older clothing, regularly donning 35 year old Dior during the school day.
The idea took off: “Even in one year, I see a huge difference in the girls’ attitude when considering different outfit options.”
Upper Sixth pupil, Abbie, is in tune with the Head: “I now think, ‘am I going to wear this again?’ and, if not, I don’t tend to buy it.”
Flora, agrees with her friend: “There’s a cachet to wearing vintage.”
Leading example
Last year, a speech by Mrs MacGinty initiated a ‘Wear it Again’ day, when all 270 pupils wore vintage.
In it, Mrs MacGinty highlighted the “enormous impact the fashion industry has on the world’s carbon footprint” quoting from a 2015 paper, by the industry-led Circular Fibres Initiative.
This organisation reported that global greenhouse gas emissions, from textile production, totalled 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2; equivalent to more than the emissions of all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
Saturday’s ball pressed-ahead with the drive to reduce textile waste, but pupil ‘rethink’ is not confined to glamorous occasions.
“Even in just a few months, I’m more aware of charity shops and what they have to offer,” says Lola, “there’s also been a huge spike in online retailers who sell vintage – ‘depop’ where you can buy and sell is really popular.” The Sixth Former continued: “Influencers, like teenager Olivia Grace, now wear and promote vintage.”
Mum knows best
Being seen in mum’s old outfit is now definitely de rigueur. Pupil Maggie wore her mother’s full-length, backless, Niteline Della Roufogali dress: “It’s over 25 years old. Mum had it from new and wore it to several events in her 20s. I love the shape but especially the quality of the material. It doesn’t look its age at all and has really lasted.”
Couture clashes were avoided by the girls with the useful initiation of the Sixth Form Common Room’s ‘Ball board’: “Everyone puts up their name and a picture of their outfit,” explains Lola, “if you’re in vintage, you’re definitely unique!”
Naturewatch: The Cromwell Tree
On 30th January 1649, King Charles I was executed on a scaffold erected in front of the Banqueting House of the Palace of Whitehall in Westminster, London. In response, on 5th February, the Parliament of Scotland declared his son, Charles II, who was living in exile in the Netherlands, to be King of Scots.
Charles returned to Scotland on 23rd June 1650, landing at Garmouth, Moray and signing the 1638 National Covenant and 1643 Solemn League and Covenant which brought both Scottish Royalists and Scots Covenanters rallying to his cause. Less than a month later, on 22nd July, Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army arrived in Scotland from Ireland and, by the end of the year, they had taken control of the city of Edinburgh and much of southern Scotland.
In a largely symbolic gesture, Charles was crowned at Scone on 1st January 1651; by July, Cromwell’s army had crossed into Fife and begun to advance towards Perth, stopping to rest at Bridge of Earn where, it being a Sunday, it is said that Cromwell preached an eloquent sermon. The Royalist garrison at Perth surrendered on 3rd August and, to maintain control of the city and its surrounding countryside, Cromwell ordered a citadel to be built on land that is now occupied by South Inch car park.
Of greater significance here, though, is a Spanish chestnut (or sweet chestnut) tree that was planted on the Kilgraston estate on the day of Perth’s surrender. If the story of its planting is true, this tree would now be approaching 369 years of age. However, while the upper part of tree appears to be a mass of dead branches, the lower part does show signs of fresh growth. The tree is still visible across fields to the north of school, a still-living reminder of Britain’s turbulent political and religious history.
Sports Round Up
Kilgraston senior netball team’s landslide win qualifies them for the Scottish Cup Finals
The senior netball team played Elgin Academy on Wednesday in the semi finals of the Scottish Cup. The girls played an incredibly fast-paced match to win 44-7. This means the team have now qualified for the Scottish Cup finals. Well done girls!
Arran takes the win at swimming gala
Tuesday saw 64 girls take part in a house swimming gala. All the girls put in their best efforts, however, the winners were:
Seniors - Rania M
Under 16 - Katherine B
Under 14 - Rebecca M
Under 13 - Maia B-A
Under 11 - Edith S
Under 9 - Emma H
House Champions - Arran
Well done to all those who took part.
‘Inspired performance’ sees senior hockey team win against QVS
On Saturday the senior girls had a great games and practice on a beautiful sunny morning.
We welcomed QVS to play our Senior team and L5/U4 team
The senior team were 2 – 0 down after half time but an inspired performance in the second half, with 2 – 2 and 30 seconds left to play Connie scored the winner, with Ellie scoring the other 2.
In the 2nd game Erin scored an amazing 4 goals and Jessica scored the 5th to win 5 – 0.
Well done girls!
Kilgraston girls ski to success at Prep School Ski Championships
Kilgraston entered three teams for this event, the youngest consisting of Lower and Upper 1! They were truly amazing, as the weather certainly wasn’t. Not only were they challenged with a steep and difficult slalom course, they had to battle against the wind to stay up! (Alice, Sofia, Minnie and Jessica)
Our B Team came 3rd, winning bronze medals. (Hannah, Willow, Delilah and Elsie)
The A Team won silver medals with a 2nd place. (Lucy, Edith and Sally). Lucy came 2nd in the U.11 category so came home with two silver medals).
A huge congratulations to the girls and a thank you to all the parents who helped.
Prep Schools Strings Day
Kilgraston has opened it’s doors to 75 pupils from 7 different schools today, for our annual Prep Schools Strings Day.
Organised by our Director of Music, Jason McAuley, the day has been a finely tuned success with all pupils, including those who took part from Kilgraston, able to gain valuable performance experience throughout the event.
The large strings orchestra are spent the day learning the piece ‘A Million Dreams’ from the popular 2019 box office hit, The Greatest Showman, whilst the advanced strand worked on Elgar’s Nimrod from his Enigma Variations, as well as a very fun version of a Bach Brandenburgh Concerto.
The day was wrapped up by a concert, showcasing the talent of these young musicians, who, quite clearly, have very exciting musical adventures ahead of them!
February Sporting Success
Junior ski team qualifies for Scottish Championships
Two of our junior ski teams headed to compete in the Scottish Schools Alpine series on Wednesday 26th February.
This was a qualifying round and for many, it was their first experience racing. The sun was shining and the snow glistening. Then the wind started blowing, the snow falling and the temperature dropped. The girls took it all in their stride and braved the elements with no complaints.
In the P. 1 – 4 team were: Elsie, Alice, Sofia, Jessica and Minnie. Elsie came 4th in this category – a really fantastic achievement.
In the P.5 – 7 category were: Lucy, Edith, Megan, Sally, Delilah and Hannah. Both Lucy and Edith did exceptionally well, finishing 8th and 9th. Their team have qualified for the Scottish Championships at Glenshee next Wednesday – a great achievement.
Well done girls!
Katherine qualifies for Olympic trials
Katherine from Upper 5 attended the McCullagh International Swimming meet in Ireland last week and had a very successful competition.
She reached the A final of the 200m butterfly, but withdrew to focus on the 1500m swim.
Katherine took the silver medal in the 1500m freestyle, blowing her own personal best out of the water (quite literally!) by six seconds to finish on 17:35.84, claiming her first international event medal.
This fantastic result qualifies her for her second British Olympic trials event at the Olympic pool in April this year.
To top it off, Katherine had another podium finish by taking 3rd place in the 800m freestyle, gaining her another Olympic qualifying time.
Congratulations Katherine!
Michaela plays for team gold medal
Michaela from Upper 6 played in the EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge with her club, the Dundee Wanderers last weekend.
The competition was held in Porto, Portugal where Michaela and her team played an excelled game to take the gold medal, and gain a promotion to the ‘B’ division for Scotland clubs next year.
Well done Michaela!
Senior Skiiers take to the slopes
Belana and Elisa from Lower 6 headed to the Senior Skiing Championships this week. The girls put in a fantastic effort and thoroughly enjoyed their day.
Well done girls!
Interhouse Hockey
Our Muirhead house hockey was won this year by Kinnoull, with Arran in 2nd and joint 3rd for Moncreiffe and Inchcolm.
For the Under 11 inter house, Moncreiffe won overall with Kinnoull taking 2nd, Inchcolm in 3rd and Arran finishing 4th.
Congratulations Kinnoull and Moncrieffe, and well done to everyone who took part.
Naturewatch: Snowdrops
Galanthus Nivalis
February blew in over-night: a
biting wind wrapped in overcast robes.
Heralding its arrival with
their own quiet, white trumpeting,
the snowdrops defy the frost.
They shove their heads up
and out of the
sodden, bleached leaves that
the trees cried in October.
Phoenix flowers - born again to eternal life.
They will come again in glory
each winter-tide.
A milky army, their ranks swell
on the riverbank, their white helmets catch
the weak winter sunlight and simulate snow.
I can’t help but join their rally-
two months till spring.
by Anna G-H, Lower 6
We celebrated our beautiful crops of snowdrops on Sunday 23rd February by opening our doors to the public for the annual Snowdrop Festival, as part of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. Click here to read more.
Junior Team Maths Challenge
Twelve teams of pupils from schools across Scotland came together at Kilgraston to compete in the Junior team maths challenge.
The competition was a qualifier for the regional final, so it was all to play for, with the Kilgraston team putting in an excellent performance, earning a very respectable fifth place.
First was the group round, where teams work to solve ten questions of varying types and difficulties during the time allowed. Each team had to decide their own strategy, whether that be to work in pairs, individually or as a team.
Next was the ‘crossnumber’ round. This round consists of teams solving a puzzle similar to a crossword, but with numbers. Teams worked in pairs for this task, one pair had the across clues whilst the other had the clues for down. The pairs had to work independently to complete the grid using logic and deduction.
The penultimate round was the shuttle task. Teams competed against the clock to correctly answer a series of four questions. Each team was divided into pair A (given questions 1 and 3) and pair B (given questions 2 and 4). Question 1 could be solved independently of the others, but the answer to each subsequent question was dependent on the answer to the previous one.
The last round was the relay. Teams split off into pairs, taking it in turns to solve problems. This was an active round with a lot of movement and maths, all against the clock!
Ski Trip to Alpendorf
During half term, 40 students and 4 members of staff travelled to Alpendorf in Austria for a week of skiing.
The trip took girls of all abilities; some had never skied before, and others were well seasoned on the slopes. The week began with those less experienced learning the ropes and gaining confidence whilst the more experienced skiers explored the runs that Alpendorf had to offer.
The staff put on a fantastic range of evening activities for the girls after their days on the slopes. Activities included a bingo night, Austrian bowling and tobogganing.
All the girls did exceptionally well and even those who had never set foot on the slopes before were skiing down blue runs by the end of the week. There were also some spectacular falls, but luckily all girls and staff returned home in one piece!
Naturewatch: The Deich Burn
The next instalment of our tour of the grounds of Kilgraston must focus on the focal point of the gardens – the 700 metre long winding Deich Burn which cuts diagonally across our land from, the southwest corner of our 58 acres to the north west corner, entering from the adjoining fields and exiting in Bridge of Earn, before joining the River Earn. We have no fewer than five bridges criss-crossing the stream. It flows gently most of the time, occasionally rising to a menacing spate after heavy rainfall.
A journey down memory lane is testament to the past glory of our precious water way, now a haven for plants and birds, as described in The Courier History Notes:
“It was at the end of the 18th century when the so called ‘healing wells’ of Pitkeathly, near Bridge of Earn began to be developed. The Grants, newly arrived at Kilgraston bought the adjoining property of Pitkeathly Wells.
As the years went by, Pitkeathly Wells became a popular spa for which many healing properties were claimed. For many, the attractions were as much social as medicinal.
All through the Victorian era, Pitkeathly Wells continued to flourish. In the extensive grounds there were facilities for playing tennis, bowls and croquet. Pitkeathly water enjoyed a large sale. It could be supplied at a cost of 6d per gallon and was available in jars at many chemists. It was also sold as far afield as London. Before the first World War, the Wells were leased and later sold to Schweppes. As the years went by its popularity dwindled and finally in 1949 the Spa was closed.” John L Wilson Perthshire Diary; www.perthshirediary.com/html/day0618.html
The polka dot parade now adorns the banks of the burn. Go and see them at their best!
Maggie Saunders, English Department