National and personal athletics success for Kilgraston pupil
Huge congratulation’s to Kilgraston School pupil, talented athlete Freya H, who took part in last weekend’s British Athletics Coventry Spring Meet, producing a personal best performance in shot-put and finishing top of the F37 classification.
Lined-up against some of the country’s best para athletes, the Sixth Form pupil was representing her hugely supportive club, Perth’s Strathtay Harriers.
Commenting on her recent performance, Club Head Coach, Jim Hunter, said: “Freya’s continual improvement - she is also a talented javelin thrower and runner - is just reward for all the hard work she has put in to this point. From a club perspective, we are really chuffed for her.”
Picking up on the story, the Daily Record ran a feature on Freya, which also highlighted the difficulties the last year of lockdown has had on athletes and the sheer dedication needed to maintain standards.
Freya competing on Saturday in Coventry on Saturday 24 April 2021
Picture credits: the Perthshire Advertiser, Richard Wilkins, & Alison Howgate
St Cecilia’s concert in press
Our annual St Cecilia’s concert featured in the January edition of the Independent Schools Magazine.
Our music department and Kilgraston pupils all worked within COVID restrictions to ensure the concert went ahead.
You can read the Independent Schools Magazine article here (turn to page 24), and click here to enjoy the wonderful concert again.
STEM at Kilgraston - Mrs MacGinty’s article in Service Parents Guide
STEM at Kilgraston is thriving, exemplified by the numbers of our leavers who go on to study these subjects at university. This year, 2021 is looking to build on this with a quarter of our leavers applying to Engineering degrees.
In the latest version of the Service Parents Guide, Kilgraston’s Headmistress Mrs MacGinty, discusses how we are supporting and engaging our pupils in their learning journey, particularly when learning a subject such as Physics. You can read the entire via the online version of the Service Parents Guide here on page 120.
Mrs MacGinty discusses the return to school on Radio Tay
Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs Dorothy MacGinty, featured on local radio station, Radio Tay, to discuss the return to school.
Schools in Scotland have been closed again due to COVID-19 but today sees the return of the youngest pupils, in the Primary 1, 2 and 3 year groups.
You can listen to what Mrs MacGinty said via the link below, around 40 seconds in at the first news and then every half hour news slot thereafter.
Kilgraston discusses COVID in Scottish Business Insider magazine
Kilgraston’s Head of Finance, Mrs Moira Mackie, contributes to the latest Independent School supplement in Scottish Business Insider magazine.
In the article, Mrs Mackie discusses how, in spite of the challenges of COVID, Kilgraston has seen an increase in admissions enquiries and our strong pupil sign-up numbers.
You can read more on page of page eight of the latest edition of Scottish Business Insider magazine.
Fundraising by Kilgraston pupil
We are so proud of the latest fundraising by Kilgraston pupil, Lower Third’s Delilah.
She recently endured a night in sub zero temperatures, sleeping in a homemade igloo, and raised £1500 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) in the process.
Deliliah’s adventures were reported in local newspaper, The Courier, where her mum Rosie said:
“She said it was the best night’s sleep she has ever had. I had to wake her up at 8.45am, two hours later than usual.
“I think there was a wind chill of -15 degrees C, but she says she was really cosy.
“We checked on her during the night. Staying on a farm, she’s camped out lots before.”
You can still help Delilah with her fundraising, her JustGiving page remains open and we hope she will continue to raise funds for her very worthy cause. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/delilahsigloo
Image: Kenny Smith
Mrs MacGinty discusses Kilgraston’s Scholarships in national magazine
Headmistress discusses Kilgraston’s scholarships and how we are continuing this process even in a pandemic in national magazine, Independent School Parent.
Also in the article, Lower Fifth’s Charlotte discusses how an equestrian scholarship has benefited her riding skills.
You can read the article here.
Our Scholarship day is on 11 and 12 of February and you can find out more about how to apply here.
Mrs MacGinty in the Times discussing remote learning plans
With the ongoing COVID situation and remote learning by schools in place, Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs Dorothy MacGinty, discusses the prospect of a phased return in The Times.
Speaking to The Times, Mrs MacGinty said: ” My biggest concern is the lack of guidance from the Scottish Qualifications Authority for schools as to the part of the syllabus that will be assessed. It is extremely unsettling for teenagers not to know on what they are being assessed. We would greatly welcome far swifter and greater clarification.”
It follows the news that schools in Scotland may offer a phased return and the Scottish government suggesting that schools should focus on re-opening mid-February. You can read more about this news on The Times website here.
Kilgraston’s Christmas Movie 2020 in the global press
Many of our families enjoyed the wonderful Kilgraston’s Christmas Movie last week, a fantastic in-school production featuring pupils and staff, entirely made in-house.
The Christmas Movie continues to make the news around the world and a beautiful picture taken on the night has now featured in the Guardian’s best photos of the day as well as German newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung and NBC News.
Scottish exams 2021 update - Mrs MacGinty on BBC Radio 4
Kilgraston’s Headmistress Mrs MacGinty discusses the Scottish exams 2021 update on national radio station, BBC Radio 4.
Education Secretary John Swinney’s announcement about the cancellation of Scottish Highers in 2021 provoked strong reaction from stakeholders throughout the country.
Following the decision, Kilgraston’s Head Teacher, Dorothy MacGinty, spoke about the situation on the BBCs flagship political show, Radio 4’s Today.
You can listen to Mrs MacGinty at 08:36am here.
Being interviewed by host Justin Webb, Mrs MacGinty appeared with Professor Lindsay Paterson FBA, Professor of Education Policy at the University of Edinburgh.
“I feel this decision should have been made months ago,” commented Mrs MacGinty, “Teachers must now administer and evaluate exams and produce estimates.”
Prof. Patterson agreed with Mrs MacGinty, adding: “There is no coherent reason for this series of decisions,” he continued, “schools are struggling to understand how this could happen, their (pupils’) learning has been turned upside down.”
Local radio station, Tay FM, also carried an interview with Mrs MacGinty and you can listen to Mrs MacGinty’s section at 07:50am here.