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
Kilgraston named in nationwide top ten selection
Celebrating the benefits of green spaces, The Guardian newspaper has nominated Kilgraston as the only Scottish school to feature in its selection of the UK’s ten best rural schools. Commenting on the success, Headteacher, Mrs MacGinty said: “The advantages of having space to think, work and play are always valuable, but never more so than during these difficult days of the pandemic. We are thrilled to have Kilgraston’s facilities nationally recognised and, with the start of our Forest School for our Junior Years, we will continue to ensure that extensive and frequent use is made of our woods and parkland. Outdoor learning - learning to love the outdoors - is such a valuable part of childhood.”
25.8.21
Biodiversity bonanza
Kilgraston’s all-school environmental mural features in School House magazine
June 29 2021
Kilgraston pupil to play for Scotland
A Kilgraston pupil has been called up to play football for Scotland national under 17 team.
Upper Fifth’s Leah will join the Scotland women’s team at their training camp in Edinburgh this week. The fifteen year-old, who is left-sided player, currently plays for Edinburgh-based club, Spartans.
Huge well done to Leah, we are all very proud of you, and we cannot wait to hear more about your success.
You can read more about this news story here.
Image via Steve MacDougall/ DCT Media
Sunday Telegraph reports boarding in Britain increasingly popular
International interest in British boarding schools is on the increase with Britain being seen as ‘open for business’ thanks to the UKs successful vaccine roll-out programme.
Head teacher of Kilgraston School, Dorothy MacGinty, is quoted in today’s Sunday Telelgraph newspaper (6.6.21), discussing the trend.
The full Sunday Telegraph article can be read here
Sixth Form boarding at Kilgraston School
SE families flock to Scotland’s boarding schools for fresh air and freedom
Kilgraston School’s boarding is featured alongside several other leading Scottish boarding schools, highlighting the trend to move north as SE families pursue academic excellence, but with just a bit more space…and where else can you go skiing or riding straight after class..?
The Sunday Telegraph feature can be read here
Kilgraston in Tatler
23.5.21
Seeking ‘space’ and ‘fresh air’ - Scottish boarding market sees domestic, post-lockdown, uptick
Dorothy MacGinty, Head teacher of Kilgraston School: “Life at a boarding school is always challenging but, like everywhere else, the last fourteen months have been specifically difficult for myriad reasons. Apart from ensuring pupils were academically and pastorally fulfilled, an independent school is a multi-million pound, international business and, obviously, Covid-19 has thrown-up many additional hurdles to parents from abroad contemplating sending their child to a British boarding school.”
Mrs MacGinty continued: “However, life is always surprising. Interest from the domestic boarding market has seen a remarkable upsurge. Parents (and their daughters) are quoting ‘space’, ‘smaller classes’, ‘fresh air’ and, most interestingly, ‘having a bedroom to escape to and their own personal space’ as the last few months have been so confined. Also fascinating is the move from the English GCSE and A-Level curriculum to our SQA, Highers and National Fives. Parents from down-south are clearly thinking ahead to university places and now seeing the Scottish school timetable as positive move to getting into Scottish universities.”
The full article can be read here: Daily Telegraph
Heads’ up – it’s time to put your back into learning at Kilgraston School
The full effect of pupils having been away from the classroom for months will take a long time to fully comprehend. However, at Kilgraston, one consequence has already been clearly identified.
“Since returning after the Easter holidays, several teachers began to notice a common theme of slouching,” said Head teacher, Dorothy MacGinty,
It soon became evident that months of home-schooling, crouching over a laptop, hadn’t done anything for pupil posture, with several commenting on sore backs and necks.
“Of course, because of social distancing, staff and dining room chat is severely curtailed,” continued the Head, “it took a few days before we realised that this was a common theme. Since restrictions were eased, there has, quite rightly, been a great deal of national discussion about lockdown lethargy, mental health issues, weight gain and children struggling with speech and language skills, however, none of us were prepared for, or expected, a bearing on personal carriage.”
To try and address the issue, pupils throughout the Kilgraston’s Junior and Senior Years are now being asked to carry-out shoulder-rolls and stretches before each class, with time spent in PE also concentrating on personal posture.
Year-group bubbles are encouraged to think about their stance and the body as a whole. “We’re not quite ‘Miss Jean Brodie’,” said Mrs MacGinty, “but we are asking them to sit-up a bit straighter for their own long-term benefit.”
Senior pupils at Kilgraston School taking part in a pre-English class stretch session
The Daily Mail newspaper also thought this was a good idea, reporting the story on Wednesday 5 May 2021
Deportment for education… school bids to stop slouching
- Scottish Daily Mail
- 5 May 2021
- By Kate Foster
IT is a lesson worthy of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – a ‘deportment’ class to correct slovenly posture.
Now, just like the girls in the classic book and film, pupils at a Scottish boarding school are being taught how to carry themselves, after teachers saw them ‘slouching’ at their desks following months of home schooling.
The posture classes are taking place at Kilgraston, an independent school near Perth where fees range from £11,550 for primary to £33,500 for senior school boarding.
Many pupils have been studying from home during lockdown and when the mostly girls’ school reopened for face-to-face learning two weeks ago, teachers saw youngsters slumping and complaining of aches and pains. Now they are being given daily exercises such as shoulder rolls and stretches before they start lessons, with PE classes concentrating on deportment.
The problem is thought to have been caused by pupils at home not looking up as often as they would do in the classroom – and teachers not being on hand to tell them to sit up straight.