Kilgraston’s Headmistress Mrs MacGinty retires
It was with much laughter and some tears that pupils and staff celebrated the end of Spring term as it marked not only the start of the Easter holidays but also the end of the Headship of Mrs MacGinty as she retires.
Mrs MacGinty has been Headmistress of Kilgraston since 2015, and came to Scotland after being Head at St Francis’ College in Hertfordshire. In the seven years as Kilgraston’s Headmistress, Mrs MacGinty has lead the school to many successes including growing the Junior Years school roll and has introduced several initiatives and policies which are close to her heart such as protecting our planet. This has seen Kilgraston be awarded our first Eco-Schools Scotland Green Flag Award.
Under Mrs MacGinty’s tenure, STEM subjects have increased in popularity with year-on-year around 60% of pupils now going onto study these typically masculine subjects at universities. Kilgraston’s academic success, for which it is well-known, continues to grow with 77% of our Higher pupils achieving a Grade A.
On her last day, the school said thank you to Mrs MacGinty, lining up for a guard of honour as she was piped into the Theatre by Mr Sinclair, the School’s piping teacher who also wrote a piece of music from the school for Mrs MacGinty, entitled ‘Mrs MacGinty’s Farewell to Kilgraston’.
The afternoon was then spent with the pupils performing a medley of tunes and skits for Mrs MacGinty before the Head Girl Team presented Mrs MacGinty with a painting of the Sacred Heart made up from the thumbprints of every pupil in the Senior School.
Mrs MacGinty is retiring with husband Frank to Lanark and is looking forward to travelling this year. We wish her all the very best in her retirement and thank her for guidance and leadership.
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.
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.