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Where justice resides
The Higher RMPS class visited the Kirkwall Sheriff Court to meet and speak with the Procurator Fiscal, Sue Foard. In line with the requirements of their ‘Morality and Justice’ unit, the aim of the visit (which has become a productive yearly tradition) was to allow the class to see crime and punishment from a practical perspective. We are as always extremely grateful to Sue for her time and immeasurable help.
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Success will have to wait a little longer
The KGS U13 football team travelled to Dingwall last week to take on Dingwall Academy in the second round of the North of Scotland Schools Cup. Unfortunately, they started off poorly, conceding 3 early goals. (All of which could have been avoided, especially the first one as the boy who scored was about ten yards offside.) The boys managed to score one and had a couple of opportunities to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, Dingwall netted a couple before half-time and added two more in the second half. Final score: 7-1 to Dingwall.
Anyway, the boys had a good time and were generally very well behaved throughout the two days. The staff at the hostel thought that they were polite and considerate. Our next matches will be in the new year, when we will organise a tournament in KGS. Schools from the North of Scotland (Tain, Thurso, Wick, and maybe Stromness, Golspie etc) will battle for The Eagle Cup, which we'll try to retain having won it two years ago! We are as always extremely grateful to our sponsors, Orkney Fisheries Association and The Indian Garden. |
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Kitted out for success
The KGS U13 football team is travelling to Dingwall on Wednesday 21 November to face Dingwall Academy in the second round of the North of Scotland Schools Cup. We wish them all the best. They are pictured wearing their new training tops provided by Orkney Fisheries Association. Thanks to OFA for supporting our young footballers in their quest for sporting success.
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First ever Peter Higgs Science Award presented
Yesterday Kirkwall Grammar School were delighted to be able to present the first ever Peter Higgs Science Award, sponsored by the Orkney International Science Festival. The award will be presented each year to our best Science student. The award is named after Professor Higgs (of Higgs Boson fame) and he had hoped to present the first one at the Science Festival this year, but unfortunately was not able to attend. In his absence, Dr Howie Firth, founder and Director of the Orkney International Science festival, was the perfect person to present the award. Dr Firth spoke of scientists who have received Nobel Prizes, about being taught by Peter Higgs at university himself, and highlighted the massive advancement in technology that would make present KGS pupils have a very different experience at university. There were some exceptional candidates for this award in Science at KGS this year. The Runner-up was Finn McGill and the Winner was Stella Kirkpatrick.
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New faces in the Pupil Support team
The school is very pleased to let you know about recent changes in our Pupil Support team. Marlyn Firth, our new Guidance Manager, took up her post mid-September, and is now well on the way to becoming a very familiar face to our pupils. You will be seeing her at parents’ nights and other events, as well as around the school during the day. Marlyn is committed to ensuring that Guidance remains very much the hub of the school, with strong links between school, home and the community.
We welcomed Amy Berry to KGS in August, in the part-time post of Family Support Worker. This is a completely new post in school; Amy will work with pupils, families and carers who may need a bit of support, particularly if a young person is finding it difficult to attend school, for whatever reason. She has already fitted into the Guidance team very well and we are really pleased to have her with us. |
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Enterprises old and new
This year's Young Enterprise company, Timeless, recently launched their products, Standing Stone clocks inspired by their Orcadian heritage and made from recycled pallets, at the Voluntary Action Orkney Christmas fair, where they were well received. See the links on our home page for more information about how you can get hold of one.
Last year's company, Estrela, were invited to the Scottish Parliament for the Business in Parliament 2018 event, along with Lite from Northfield Academy. They were presented to Parliament, met Nicola Sturgeon and took part in workshops. |
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Trial wins for KGS pupils
Congratulations to the KGS pupils who took part in the first ever Orkney Mini Trials that took place at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Saturday 3 November. The standard of argument and questioning displayed by the teams from KGS, Stomness Academy and Westray Junior High was extremely high. The teams from KGS won both their trials, against strong competition, with a successful prosecution in the assault case in the morning and an acquital in the Drugs Trial in the afternoon. The KGS team were supported with their preparation by Procurator Fiscal Sue Foard and our thanks go to her.
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Going local for top quality
National 5 Hospitality: Practical Cookery pupils have been looking at the benefits of using of locally sourced fresh ingredients, along with healthy eating, as part of their course. Pupils made a traditional dish of spaghetti Bolognaise using locally sourced Scotch Beef PGI, as well as locally purchased fresh vegetables which included celery, carrots, onions and garlic. The Department registered with the QMS Meat Voucher Scheme and were successful in receiving a voucher towards the cost of buying the Scotch Beef PGI.
#qmsschoolvoucher @qmsscotland |
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Cakes again, but different
S2 Geography pupils have been studying volcanoes and as homework were set the task of making their own. Some chose to make theirs from paper, but many opted to make cake volcanoes! Pictured are members of 2F1 proudly displaying their volcanoes.
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Big Coffee Morning is big success
On Friday the Curriculum Support Department held a Big Coffee Morning and raised £375 for Macmillan Cancer Support. As well as selling coffee, tea and an array of delicious cakes and biscuits, staff and pupils held a raffle, tombola and competitions. The coffee morning was a big hit with staff, pupils and visitors alike. Congratulations and thanks go to all those involved in organising, serving, contributing and donating.
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Voting for change? Pupils make their views known to Scottish Parliament
This week Senior Modern Studies classes were visited by Iain Clark from the Scottish Parliament. He spoke to them about raising the age of Criminal Responsibility from 8 to 12 as part of Stage One of the Equalities and Human Rights Committee's work. Both N5 and Higher Modern Studies classes took part in discussions of evidence surrounding this issue and each pupil was able to vote on what they thought. These votes will be taken back to the Committee and will help inform the bill's progress in the Scottish Parliament.
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Out and about in Kirkwall
On Friday, National 4 and 5 Geography pupils took part in an urban field trip around Kirkwall. The pupils completed traffic counts, environmental quality surveys and building field sketches, which will be used to work towards their coursework for National 4 and National 5.
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Pupils find their way to national final
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Builders do good job but lose out
Two teams of S2 pupils recently took part in the Bridge Building competition supported by OCTG, CITB, Orkney College and DYW. They were given the task to plan and build a bridge, with the winning team constructing the bridge which was the best value for money (load carried/cost). It was a close contest, with Westray taking the overall prize, but both KGS teams should be proud of themselves as they showed excellent problem solving and team working skills throughout the day.
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Deputy First Minister visits
Deputy First Minister John Swinney paid a visit to the school on Friday. After being played in by Haadhirgaan, he was introduced to Mr Hawkins and other members of staff then taken on a tour of the school by S6 pupils, visiting a number of classes. He met pupils and staff, including members of the highly successful Young Enterprise company, Estrela, who presented him with one of their lamps.
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Photo win for Freya
Congratulations to Freya Fisher, who won the U16 category of Stromness Museum's Cloud Photography Competition.
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Lighting the way to success
Estrela, the KGS Young Enterprise team, won the local finals in a very close competition and are honoured to represent Orkney in Glasgow on 6 June. In addition to the overall award, the team won the award for Best IT and Social Media as well as Best Trade Stand. Production Director James MacLeod won the Best Director award. The team would like to thank everyone for their support in their adventure so far and progress can be seen in their website, estrelaorkney.co.uk and on their facebook page, ESTRELA.ye.
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Megan's Westray project wins Fereday Prize
This year's Fereday Prize, for a project on Orkney history by an S2 pupil in KGS or Stromness Academy, was today awarded to KGS pupil Megan Waterston for her project 'Has Westray Processors been of economic benefit to Westray?'. The KGS runner-up was Courtney Russell and third place among KGS pupils went to Josie Groat. First prize for Stromness was won by Charlie Fulton, with Jamie Barbour runner-up and Gareth McLaughlin in third place.
At the prize-giving, which was held in KGS library, the judges commended all the pupils for their efforts and the high standard of their projects, and reminded them that they were lasting contributions to Orkney history which would go on to be used in the future by researchers in the Orkney Archive. The complete list of prize winners is: Overall Winner and 1st Prize for KGS Megan Waterston - Has Westray Processors Been of Economic Benefit to Westray? 2nd Prize for KGS Courtney Russell - Just Dance 3rd Prize for KGS Josie Groat - The History of the Drill Hall 1st Prize for SA Charlie Fulton - Why is There Such a Strong Tradition of Home Brew in Orkney? 2nd Prize for SA Jamie Barbour - History of Athletics in Orkney 3rd Prize for SA Gareth McLaughlin - Men of Harray Very Highly Commended KGS Erika Poke - Sandwick Parish FC Nairn Hall - How Significant was the Find of the Orkney Venus to the Island of Westray? Ewan Howe - Coast Defence Batteries Abbey Budge - Who Started the Co-operative now known as the Workshop and the Loft Gallery? Rosanne Copland - Witchcraft in Orkney Alex Muir - Geramount Kate Friel - Rousay School: a history Emma Rendall - The Otter Bank Alex Cooper - How did the Nicolson Fleet Evolve Through the Years? Aidan Brown - How has Hatston Evolved over the Years? Robbie Kirkpatrick - Tom Ward: the first Orcadian Olympian SA Aimee Sinclair - The Stromness Shops Keighley Clark - The Battle of Jutland in Orkney Daisy Beckwith-Wyman - The History of Radio in Orkney Zoe Hourston - Kirbister Farm Museum Ethank Johnston - Barony Mills Ava Hamilton - Gorn Farm Daniel Kirkpatrick - What Makes Yesnaby a Special Place? Jemma Montgomery - Junior Inter-County |
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Orkney pupils' strong showing in national event
Kirkwall Grammar and Stromness Academy pupils travelled down to Perth to represent Highland area by competing in the Scottish Schools Badminton Union Secondary Championships on Saturday 10th March. The following pupils had qualified from a local event held earlier in the year:
Junior: Alex Cooper, Calvin Slater, Drew Leslie, Isla Donaldson, Leah Gunn, Cady Shearer (all KGS) Intermediate: Tommy Ballantine, Aidan Foubister, Keira Stevenson, Megan Clouston (all KGS) Senior: Willis Deans, Tanya Seator, Ingrid Rendall (all SA) The standard was extremely high, with players from all across Scotland taking part. All players from Orkney rose to the challenge of playing at such a high level and were a credit to both schools with their behaviour on and off court. Winning any matches at this level is a huge achievement – so ‘well done’ in particular to Tommy, Alex, Aidan, Tanya, Ingrid, Keira, Megan and Willis. Highlights of the competition included Tommy and Aidan reaching the final on the Intermediate Consolation Boys Doubles and only losing out 22-20. Ingrid and Tanya progressed through the main draw of the Senior Girls Doubles only to meet the no. 1 seeds in the quarter finals and put up a fantastic fight, going down 19-21 & 10-21. Tanya partnered up with Willis in the Mixed Doubles, and after losing their first game to the no. 2 seeds they advanced through the stages of the consolation event and convincingly came out overall winners in the final 21-10 – a tremendous achievement! For most players this was their first experience of competing in a national event of this scale and they did extremely well against very seasoned opponents. Many players also have another year within these age groups so will be looking to qualify and return stronger next year. Many thanks to Northlink for providing a discount on travel for the group. Miss R Reid |
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Success for Courtney in RSA awards
Congratulations to Courtney Russell in S2, who was placed Highly Commended in the Junior category of the Royal Scottish Academy's Schools Art Award competition. Courtney's watercolour painting of birds on the shoreline was inspired by her sketches from the outdoor sketching activity last June.
Courtney's painting will be on display, alongside the other winners' entries, at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh until the 8th of April. |
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Callum is top S1 candidate
Congratulations to Callum Croy, who was recently elected in the S1 Modern Studies Mock Election Campaign. Callum and his team pledged to tackle issues such as bringing jobs to Orkney, tackling potholes in roads around the County, improving the shopping experience for residents and bringing back Jungle World! Well done to all pupils who stood as candidates and to all of the teams who worked hard to try to get their candidate elected.
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Send My Friend to School
Education is the key to a better future, a route out of poverty and a fundamental human right. But around the world, over 263 million children are still missing out on school. World leaders have promised every child across the globe a quality education; but a key piece of the puzzle is not in place - the MONEY to pay for this education. Leaving 263 million children missing out. The ramifications are global. Yet just at the time it is needed the most, global aid to education is declining.
Kirkwall Grammar School Send My Friend to School campaign champions of 2017, Rajmund Olah and Maya Tams-Gray, invited local MP Alistair Carmichael into school, handing over jigsaw piece schools for him to pass on to the Secretary of State for International Development, the UK Government decision maker on this issue, to call on world leaders to increase their investment in the power of education. Rajmund Olah |
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Orkney Young Carers assembly
Today an S1-3 assembly was addressed by several KGS pupils who belong to Orkney Young Carers as part of Young Carers Awareness Day. The group described their work and showed a video they had produced with Fixers. It can be seen at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7FBgHj2KoU and more information about carers can be found at www.crossroadsorkney.co.uk and www.orkneyyoungcarers.org |
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Top coach benefits KGS boys
Last Friday coach Steven Ferguson came to KGS to lead a session for the under 15 boys. Steven is Ross County's first ever Academy Director and also holds a UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching certificate available and the level required for Premiership managers.
All the boys commented that it was a very enjoyable and worthwhile session. Steven in turn was complimentary about the squad. Mr Campbell and Mr Pesci appreciate him giving up his time to coach the boys. |
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End of the road for KGS footballers
The KGS Under 15 Football squad travelled to Fortrose on Monday morning to play in the quarter-finals of the North of Scotland Schools Cup. Unfortunately, the team weren't able to reproduce the standard of football witnessed against Wick High School and were defeated 8-2 by a very strong Fortrose Academy side, ending this year's quest for silverware. Coaches Bobby Campbell and Ben Pesci would like to thank everyone at Fortrose Academy for their hospitality and everyone at KGS wishes them luck in the next round. A big thank you also to Pentland Ferries and main sponsor R.S. Rendall. Despite the defeat on the pitch the boys certainly looked very good off it in their new training tops!
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