Sixth Form at Kilgraston - Glasgow University virtual information event
Despite the school building being physically closed, preparation for life after school is still going ahead in the Sixth Form.
As part of our Sixth Form Studies programme, we recently welcomed Kirsty Notman from Glasgow University to talk to talk to out Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth about Higher Education and what Glasgow university has to offer.
This was via Zoom rather than in person but the talk still created a sense of enthusiasm and excitement, particularly for our Upper Sixth who will be embarking on their own Higher Education journeys soon.
The talk was very engaging and gave our students’ lots of food for thought. The question and answer session was especially interesting with lots of great question about entry requirements, degree structures, student accommodation, as well as what universities are doing regarding the Erasmus scheme and how they have adapted to online learning.
Over the coming weeks we have other speakers from different institutions lined up to give virtual talks so the Sixth Form have a broad range of experiences to help inform their future decisions.
You can find out more about Sixth Form at Kilgraston here and you can attend our next Sixth Form Information Event on February 6th 2021. Contact us for information on how to attend.
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 Covid Christmas Show
Kilgraston’s Covid Christmas Show proved that anything really is possible…
What’s Christmas without a little family drama and Kilgraston’s seasonal homage had it with bells on. But, like any tension-inducing event, it was very much all alright on the night.
Director of Music, Jason McAuley’s ambitious production of an hour-long drive-in movie was testament to the grit and determination of a small school to not have its annual Christmas showcase spoilt by Covid: “We just wanted to give everyone a good time, something to bring a little cheer into this gloomy climate.”
And deliver joy he most certainly did.
With the help of a blow-up movie screen imported from Truro and school bus drivers hastily morphing into car park attendants and instant Bluetooth speaker experts, the weather also played ball, allowing nearly 200 cars to slip seamlessly into their allotted space and enjoy one of the three movie showings over one hectic night.
“I can’t tell you how hard everyone’s worked on this,” said an emotional Mr McAuley, wrestling with momentary sound interference and a sea of blinking hazard lights indicating poor reception.
Christmas is a time when magical things happen and just as tensions piqued, the technical fairies flicked their wands and all was well in the world.
The Kilgraston community is a cohesive unit with all 260 pupils and nearly 100 staff doing their party piece and adding to the festival spirit. Recorded over two weeks and appropriately socially distanced measurements in draughty marquees and windy front lawns, dancers, singers, pipers, jazz musicians, orchestra members, choirs, actors and speakers led the audience through the traditional tale with a contemporary twist: “We included ‘flock immunity’, gifts of fragrant hand-sanitiser and the R-number – rational reaction of reasonable repetitive response – to add a touch of much-needed humour,” said Mr McAuley.
Diced and spliced during a week of late-night sessions in the School’s recording and editing suite, the movie promised to take viewers on a ‘new journey’ where we ‘thought a little differently’. During the first few minutes, one performer asked: “Where are you Christmas, where is the laughter?” It was all there. Teachers donning cardboard camels, pupils re-enacting appropriately spaced nativity scenes.
You couldn’t make it up, but they did and to spectacular effect, spreading joy and happiness to a chilly car park in Perthshire, the audience going home for the night full of festive bonhomie.
“Phew,” said Mr McAuley.
“Thank you,” called everyone else.
Read more about the press coverage of this event here.
Kilgraston’s Headmistress discusses exam changes in The Independent Schools Magazine
Recent exam changes is the subject Kilgraston’s Headmistress Mrs MacGinty writes about in the latest edition of The Independent Schools Magazine.
In her article, Mrs MacGinty writes, “Of course I, like every Head across the country, wish that we were not having to make adjustments that potentially threaten the stability of the teenagers’ lives for which we have responsibility, now and in the their future.
“But I don’t think it is an entirely negative situation.”
You can read Mrs MacGinty’s entire article in the magazine on page 4, here.
The magazine also features Upper Sixth’s Anna’s recent global poetry competition win for her work ‘Total’ (page 38) and the Junior School’s ‘decade of growth’ observations with the hedge planted in 2009 (on page 22).