Kilgraston BFG scheme 2023
Did you know that Kilgraston is full of BFGs?
Each year, Kilgraston’s Head Girl Team leads on the school’s Big Friendly Girl (BFG) scheme and this year’s is now well underway. Here, this year’s Head Girl Laura introduces and explains our unique program.
The Kilgraston BFG system involves the whole school with pupils from Reception to Lower Sixth paired with and looked after by a member of Upper Sixth. A BFG is there to offer advice, to chat to or simply to be a friendly face in the corridors. The BFG program strengthens the connections between year groups and gives younger pupils the chance to make friends with their role models. This year, we are introducing a new feature to the BFG system. We know that as you start to move up the school, academic pressure increases too. As well as being paired with a BFG you share interests with, your BFG can be an academic mentor. This means that your BFG can offer you help and support with the subject you struggle with most.
Ask your Year Head or Head of School how you can sign up.
Laura, Kilgraston Head Girl, 2023 - 2024
Kilgraston Head Girl team plan for 2022
Meet Lexie, Amy and Jeanie, Kilgraston’s Head Girl team for 2022 - 2023. Here Head Girl Lexie, introduces the team and shares their plans for this term:
Jeanie, Amy and I are looking forward to the academic year ahead, we have got many exiting ideas and can’t wait to contribute to all aspects of Kilgraston life.
We are helping plan Goals Days, we have already given several speeches, and participated in and organised school activities. Amy and Jeanie have been at the school since Lower Four and I joined in Lower Fifth so we have lots of great Kilgraston memories together and are excited to make many more new ones in this coming year, both individually but also together.
Life at Kilgraston is bustling and busy, as well as being on the Head Girl Team we are all sports captains. I am Senior Hockey captain, Jeanie is Senior Tennis captain and Amy is Senior Netball captain. We are really looking forward to getting to know our LFG’S and new pupils that have joined the school and integrating the Lower Sixth to make it a more collective Sixth Form, it is what Kilgraston is all about.
Looking ahead to the next school year, Jeanie, Amy and I are excited to get to know and work with our new Headteacher, Mrs Davie so we can make it a successful school year for all.
Kilgraston Head Girl 2021 - 2022 talks about her Kilgraston experience
Kilgraston’s Head Girl 2021 - 2022, Maria, talks about her Kilgraston experience, thank you Maria:
The time has officially come to bid farewell and leave the gates of Kilgraston after 15 years of education, connection and school spirit. New chapters in life often harbour reflection and when I contemplate my time at Kilgraston I am gratified with the memories, friendships and knowledge I have gained. Concluding my time at Kilgraston in being awarded the position of Head Girl, I have worked to my greatest ability to encapsulate the makings of not only a leader but the qualities of a Kilgraston individual, exemplifying perseverance, amiability and humility in school life.
Going into Upper Sixth, the Head Girl Team had a myriad of ideas and innovation to cement within the school environment linking to the Sacred Heart Goal of Community. In consideration of what we have achieved and created, I am contented and full of pride in our achievements. Our Burns Supper, Sixth Form Ball, Talentless Show, Seasonal Party, Goals Day activities and more all linking to charity have all contributed to our experiences and memories of our time at Kilgraston. My proudest moment as Head Girl has been the success and hopeful continuation of the Charity Week we established for the first time in Kilgraston History. Each year group was given a charity for the year to research, spread awareness and fundraise for, including Pancreatic Cancer UK, Maggie’s, Cardiomyopathy UK and more. I will forever smile when I think of the ‘Soak the Upper Sixth and Staff’ event which culminated at the end of the Charity Week, where we raised £300 for the Charity CHAS. Not only did the splashing of water and attack of sponges spark hilarity, but we crafted a strong sense of togetherness and community.
As Head Girl of Kilgraston for 2021-2022, I have felt so humbled and honoured to have been awarded this leadership position and I will undoubtedly take the skills I have picked up with me into adult life. I am overjoyed to have accomplished the Sacred Heart Goal of Community with all pupils participating in fundraising events for a plethora of charities, volunteering and developing in both an academic domain alongside in ambition and confidence within themselves.
I have been so fortunate to have been joined in my leadership by my two Deputy Head Girls, India and Yolanda. Together, we have established a strong sense of school ethos and dynamism within both the pupil and staff sphere. We have unquestionably learnt a magnitude of skills that will complement our future horizons and feel additionally fulfilled when we consider what we have accomplished for our legacy at Kilgraston. Not only as a team but as three strong friends, India, Yolanda and I have truly maximised all opportunities provided and have conducted ourselves in a manner of friendliness and humanity, hoping to exemplify the belief system that ‘No one is perfect’ and encourage all pupils to be themselves and try their best in all aspects of school life.
Whilst departing from Kilgraston signifies poignancy for the Upper Sixth Leavers, I know that it is our time to go and branch out in the world, reassured of our future thanks to Kilgraston and the education it has provided. As I pass on the baton of leadership, I wish the new Head Girl Team of 2022-2023 the greatest fulfilment and success in the coming year. Explore your talents and capture every moment, the time will fly by faster than you can anticipate hence seize every opportunity and every day at school.
For my final sign-off one more time, Thank you Kilgraston.
Cor Unum.
Maria E.
Kilgraston’s Head Girl Team 2022-2023 announced
Appointments of Kilgraston’s much-coveted Head Girl Team, for academic year 2022/3, have been announced.
Lexie picks-up the Head Girl baton from Maria, while Jeanie and Amy will perform the Deputy roles.
Commenting on her new role, Lexie said: “We had quite a tough interview, but the new Headteacher, Mrs Davie, immediately put us at ease and was very positive and encouraging.”
The girls will start their positions in August, knowing that they have big shoes to fill: “This year’s team has been brilliant,” said Lexie, “they are all very personable and particularly great with the younger year groups.”
The Head Girl Team acts as a conduit between Senior Management and pupils, frequently suggesting ideas and representing the School on many occasions throughout the year. “Kilgraston has given me leadership skills and lots of opportunities to better myself,” said Lexie, continuing, “public speaking, inter-house debating competitions and interacting with all ages have all been invaluable. After the appointment, I felt I grew in confidence overnight, knowing that Mrs Davie put so much trust in us all.”
Lexie honed her leadership skills through both hockey and netball, being the captain of teams in both disciplines: “I love sport, playing for Perthshire Hockey and the Scotland U18 team, where I’m hoping be selected for July’s Eight Nations tournament in Spain.”
Currently having six hockey caps for Scotland, the current Lower Sixth pupil hopes to increase that number during the next few months, training hard with the Scotland Squad, at Kilgraston and at home: “The regular National Squad training is in either Glasgow or Edinburgh, which is high intensive skills training. I do fitness training at School and run in my own time.”
Kilgraston wishes the girls every success for their exciting, fulfilling and enjoyable year ahead.
You can read more about Sixth Form at Kilgraston, our outstanding exam results and our leavers’ destinations here.
Sixth Form Ball 2022
The Kilgraston Sixth Form Ball, without question has always been a highly anticipated and central event in the school calendar for not only the girls in Lower and Upper Sixth but for the Kilgraston staff as well.
The 2022 Ball followed a Parisian theme, titled as ‘A Midnight in Paris’ with a spectrum of elegant ball gowns on display. Whilst Central Hall was decorated with hanging gold stars from the balcony and shimmering fairy lights, the Theatre was renovated into an illuminating French atmosphere incorporating wine bottles with candle wax, Pot Pourri and more, with each table named after an iconic Parisian place: Le Louvre, La tour Eiffel, Le Moulin Rouge etc. Around the ambience were not only self-constructed lampposts but also a hand-crafted 3D Eiffel Tower with inside lighting, replicating the famous landmark at night time. In his first year at Kilgraston, Head of Art Mr Lapeyre, with his ‘can do attitude’ sprung to the opportunity of expanding the Upper Sixth’s creative side and artistic potential. Many girls volunteered to stay late on a weekly basis in the days leading up to the Ball to finish constructing the props and items we had envisioned months ago.
The dining experience first began with Grace and a touching reflection from Deputy Head Girls India and Yolanda prior to the main course of ‘Roast Chicken Supreme’ with cured French bacon being served. Next up was the delicious dessert, ‘Chocolate and Armagnac mousse’ prepared by Dougie and the Inspire Catering Team.
After the meal came the comedic and light-hearted ‘Vote of Thanks’ speech by Head Girl Maria who used the occasion to thank those around her and elevate spirits for the dancing that followed. For the last share of the evening, all guests adjourned to the grange for a period of dancing and entertainment with music by the incredible band Soul Inferno and mood lighting by Mr Pryke.
The success of the evening and transformation of turning Perthshire into ‘A Midnight in Paris’ was undoubtedly down to the work and commitment of several individuals, who all radiated enthusiasm and dedication to the Ball. Mrs McCormick and Mrs McFadden, as always, were fundamental in helping the night operate like clockwork with their wide expertise and guidance; it is fair to say they know a thing or two about Ball planning!
Collectively, it was the Upper Sixth, and in particular the Ball Committee and Head Girl Team whose hard work was on show during the event. It was a lovely moment for the 2022 Upper Sixth to unite together, admire their efforts and moreover grow in excitement for the Leavers trip to Paris this June.
A hugely successful and superb ‘nuit’ had by all, merci!
Maria E, Head Girl
Kilgraston Head Girl Team 2021 - 2022 announced
Voting for Kilgraston Head Girl Team has taken place so congratulations to Lower Sixth’s Maria, our Head Girl for 2021 - 2022 academic year. She will be supported by deputies, Yolanda and India.
In Mrs MacGinty’s Monday assembly, she discussed the qualities of being a good leader. These include:
- Integrity - what are your morals?
- Delegate - how can you work as a team?
- Self awareness - do you know your strengths and weaknesses?
- And empathy - do you understand other people’s thoughts?
Mrs MacGinty then introduced Maria, India and Yolanda, who shared some of their plans for next year. These include a regular academic and pastoral support session run by Upper Sixth. They will also be looking at ways to encourage more pupils to take up different sports with regular talks from athletes. The Head Girl team is also aiming to further integrate and support Kilgraston’s already strong charity support.
We very much look forward to finding out more about Maria, India and Yolanda’s plans for next year.
Meet our Head Girl teams
Each year, our Junior and Senior Schools have Head Girl teams voted for by the pupils and staff of Kilgraston. This year in the Senior School, Head Girl Emily is supported by her deputies Libby and Issie. Emily said: “This is my tenth year at Kilgraston and my main goals are to get to know everyone and make sure everyone feels the strong sense of community between the students and staff. Between the three of us we have a few main goals to focus on this year, one of these is concentrating on the Sacred Heart Goal of Intellect and finding out what that means personally for each student. We believe it is about more than just exam results but also about being aware of global issues. We would also like to really focus on the 90th birthday of the school and we are keen to learn more about the history of the school together. Finally, we know these are challenging times and we would like to have a positive year as adapting to changes will not be easy however we can overcome and face them as school community, as year groups and with strong friendships.”
In the Junior School, Head Girl Willow, is joined by Lucy, Ishbel and Edith as her Deputies. Willow said: “I am honoured to be the Head Girl of the Junior Years this year, and the Juniors Head Girl team has lots of exciting plans we are looking forward to implementing.”
The team has come up with several ideas including a money-raising sausage sizzle for a charity. They are also planning to continue Kilgraston’s sustainability drive with an inter house competition which would see each house designing a costume out of recycled materials, with the School voting on their favourite. The team is also looking at putting a suggestions box into school so everyone can put forward their ideas for activities for the Junior School.