WRP Digital Leaders – Training Day at Portpatrick

On Friday 12th September, our new cohort of Digital Leaders from across the West Rhins Partnership gathered at St. Joseph’s, Portpatrick for their first training day of the year.

After a quick hello to all the boys and girls at Portpatrick, Ms. Whorlow warmly welcomed the group and thanked Josh and Arran for hosting our meeting at their school. The excitement and enthusiasm of our new team of Digital Leaders shone through from the very start!

Exploring Roles and Responsibilities

The children discussed what it means to be a Digital Leader – from supporting classmates with digital learning to promoting online safety and leading clubs. They were eager to take on these responsibilities and develop their leadership skills.

Skills Training

To prepare for their roles, the Digital Leaders took part in a range of hands-on activities, including:

• Logging in: mastering Glow accounts and setting up diaries with login details.
• Websites: creating bookmarks and setting favourites, including Sumdog.
• QR Codes: generating, saving, and printing QR codes for classmates to use.
• Emails: practicing professional email use; from attachments to folders and flagging.

Leaders of Learning

The group planned the first series of Digital Skills Clubs to take place back in their schools. These will cover:

• Logging on, emails, and QR codes
• Coding projects using Microbits or Spheros
• Internet safety awareness

A Digi Skills Suggestion Box will also be introduced in each school so pupils can request support or suggest future club ideas.

Looking Ahead

The Digital Leaders will be working together across schools on:

• Running coding sessions in November and December
• Organising activities for Internet Safety Day (10th February 2026)
• Sharing new ideas for Digi-Clubs regularly via email

As a team, the children identified important metaskills they were using: communicating, critical thinking, initiative, leading, and collaborating.

We are very proud of our Digital Leaders – they are already making a positive difference in their schools and are excited to share their skills with others!

There was time to enjoy a break with partnership friends before the group returned to their classes.

Have a read of the minutes of the meeting here:

Links to Our Wider Values

• UNCRC Article: Article 17 – every child has the right to reliable information from a variety of sources, especially those aimed at their wellbeing.
• SHANARRI: Safe – promoting safe use of technology through internet safety.
• Sustainable Development Goal: Goal 4 – Quality Education, ensuring inclusive and equitable opportunities for digital learning.
• Four Capacities for Learning: Confident Individuals – building self-belief through leadership and digital skills.
• God’s Loving Plan: Respecting ourselves and others by using our talents to support our community.

The boys and girls received a surprise visit from Portpatrick hotel staff today. Before the holidays, the children created beautiful artwork of the hotel to display for their guests. As a thank you, Jody and her team brought goodie bags for every pupil. The children were delighted and very grateful.

Thank you Port Hotel!

🎉 Portpatrick Primary School – End of Year Award Ceremony 2025 🎉

We ended the school year with a joyful celebration at our End of Year Award Ceremony, recognising the hard work, progress and achievements of all our pupils. From academic success to creativity and kindness, every award reflected the unique strengths of our wonderful learners.

A special part of the day was saying goodbye to our fantastic Primary 7 pupils — Lacey, Louise and Carter. They have been a valued part of our school community, showing leadership, care and enthusiasm throughout their time with us. We are so proud of the young people they have become and we wish them every success at secondary school.

Thank you to our families for your continued support. We hope everyone enjoys a safe and happy summer break. We look forward to welcoming you all back in August for another great year at Portpatrick Primary.

UNCRC Articles:

• Article 28 – Right to education
• Article 29 – Goals of education (developing talents and abilities)
• Article 12 – Right to be heard and taken seriously

SHANARRI Indicators:

• Achieving – Celebrating learning and progress
• Included – Whole-school participation and recognition
• Nurtured – Positive environment that supports wellbeing

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 4 – Quality Education
• SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities (ensuring all pupils are recognised)
• SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing (supporting emotional development)

With best wishes,
The Portpatrick Primary Team

What a way to end the school year! Our last day was packed with sunshine, laughter and brilliant memories that we’ll all treasure.

Mr. Morrison truly stole the show. His head was bedazzled with colourful jewels, sparkling with every step. The children couldn’t stop laughing and absolutely loved seeing him shimmer through the school. A fantastic sport as always!

Outdoors, the fun really kicked off with a slip and slide that had everyone whooshing and splashing in delight. The water fights were just as wild, with students (and some brave staff) getting thoroughly soaked and loving every minute of it.

After all the action, it was time for a well-earned treat. Ice cream for everyone! The sweet surprise was a huge hit and gave everyone a chance to cool off and relax in the sun. To top it off, pupils were gifted goodie bags from our amazing staff and students, a thoughtful and fun way to mark the end of term.

The day finished on a heartfelt note with a guard of honour for our P7 leavers. The entire school came together to cheer them on as they made their way out, led by the stirring sound of Scott the Piper. It was a proud and emotional send-off for a wonderful group of pupils.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the day so special. Wishing you all a safe, sunny and super summer holiday! 🌞🎒🎶

We are delighted to share some fantastic news with our school community. Thanks to the incredible generosity of Portpatrick Dunskey Golf Club, our school has received a cheque for £1000 💷 following their annual PGA in Scotland Tartan Tour Pro Am golf competition.

Pupils Harry, Carter, and Arran, along with Mr Morrison, proudly accepted the cheque 📝 on behalf of the school. The presentation was made by Mr Quentin McKie, representing Portpatrick Dunskey Golf Club.

We are extremely grateful for this donation, which will be put to great use supporting opportunities and resources for our pupils 📚✨.

A huge thank you to everyone at Portpatrick Dunskey Golf Club for their continued support of our school! 🙌

• UNCRC: Article 31 (Right to rest, play, and recreational activities), Article 26 (Social and Economic Help)
• SHANARRI: Achieving, Nurtured, Included
• Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 4 (Quality Education), Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

The stowaways are a bit sad 😢, but their magnificent journey has come to an end. Here they are in Paris 🇫🇷 about to board the Eurostar train 🚄 that goes through a tunnel under the sea 🌊. They have had so many adventures across Europe, from Newcastle 🇬🇧 to Amsterdam 🇳🇱, Cologne 🇩🇪, Milan 🇮🇹, Rome 🇮🇹, Sicily 🇮🇹, Switzerland 🇨🇭, France 🇫🇷, and finally home again 🇬🇧. Inky Mouse was a bit disappointed to miss seeing the Eiffel Tower in Paris 🗼. You just cannot do it all, can you? They did enjoy swimming 🏊‍♂️ in the Mediterranean Sea and relaxing in the shade of Reverend Breakey’s fan 🍃. It was very relaxing indeed!

What an adventure they’ve had. Thank you to Reverend Breakey for taking Inky and Lion on such an exciting journey. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back home again safe and sound.

A huge well done to our Primary 7 pupils who successfully completed their Bikeability Road Safety Training this week with the brilliant Mike Blakeman.

During the session, pupils took to the local roads to develop their cycling confidence and learn vital safety skills. From signalling at junctions to checking for traffic and managing road positioning, everyone rose to the challenge and made amazing progress.

Mike Blakeman was full of praise for the group, saying:

“They were all great and grew over the sessions, particularly individuals who overcame many challenges. Fantastic to see their confidence grow.”

Lacey, Carter, and Louise, who showed great determination throughout. Each of them overcame challenges and grew in confidence as the sessions went on. Their perseverance and positive attitudes were impressive!

It was wonderful to see the pride on everyone’s faces as they achieved their certificates and cycled away with new skills and self-belief.

Thank you again to Mike for leading such an engaging and supportive session, and to our P7s for being such fantastic role models.

Keep cycling safely, everyone! 🚲💪

UNCRC

• Article 29 – Education should develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full

SHANARRI

• Safe – Pupils learned how to stay safe while cycling on roads

Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing – Promotes active, healthy lifestyles through cycling

The next instalment in the adventures of Inky and Lion with the Rev…

Inky Mouse and Lion have been off on another exciting leg of their European adventure with Rev Breakey! This time, they leapt (or rather, snuck) into her bag to see a real volcano, Mount Etna.

From the city of Catania, they could see clouds of steam puffing from Etna’s top. Despite years of eruptions and earthquakes, people still live nearby because the soil is so good for growing things. Inky was a little nervous when they explored a dark lava tube, but Lion couldn’t wait to charge in! Lava had once rushed through the tunnel like strawberry milkshake through a straw, and now it’s a cool cave where people (and cuddly toys) can walk. In the olden days, clever Italians used these caves to store blocks of ice to make yummy granita, even before fridges were invented.

As the sun set over an old crater, the stowaways admired the view, with Etna steaming quietly in the distance. But their adventure wasn’t over yet…

Next, a railway strike meant big travel changes. The plan to head to Venice by train was halted, so a cunning plan was needed. A speedy bus took them across Sicily to Palermo, where the streets were buzzing and the scenery flashed by.

Then came a huge overnight ferry ride, full of trucks, tourists and even dogs! It reminded them of the Stena ferry to Belfast. After landing in hot and dusty Livorno (with delicious pizza!), they caught busy trains north.

Where to next? Switzerland, of course, if the trains behave!

Stay tuned for more from the travelling toys 🧳🐭🦁

Mount Etna

Mainland Italy

On Thursday, our Primary 5 to 7 class from Portpatrick Primary set off on a truly memorable adventure to the awe-inspiring Garden of Cosmic Speculation, just outside Dumfries. We were joined by our friends from St Joseph’s Primary P5 to 7, making the day even more special. 🚌💫

We were lucky with the weather — warm, dry, and not a drop of rain in sight. Perfect conditions to explore the fascinating sights this unique garden had to offer. The gardens only open to the public one day every year and we were lucky enough to be able to granted an invitation to visit.

Designed by architect and theorist Charles Jencks and his wife Maggie Keswick, the garden is renowned for blending science, maths, nature and art in imaginative and thought-provoking ways. Every corner revealed spirals, patterns, sculptures and features that challenged us to stop, think and marvel.

🌿 Our pupils had a brilliant time exploring the different zones, from artistic landscapes and unusual buildings to cleverly designed spaces and curious plants. Each path seemed to lead to something unexpected.

🐌 A real favourite was Snail Hill, a spiralling grassy mound that plays tricks on your sense of direction. Made entirely from earth and grass, it was a gentle challenge to walk, but what a view from the top.

🌉 Another fascinating moment was learning about the two red bridges. The original Japanese-style red bridge is a striking feature of the garden, and when a railway had to pass through the grounds, the owners ensured the new bridge matched in colour and design to keep the garden’s harmony. This thoughtful mix of natural beauty and human impact really captured the children’s interest.

To top off our day, both schools took part in some fantastic STEM challenges:

🔍 Find the Fibonacci! – We searched for natural spirals and patterns in plants and surroundings.

🦆 Bridge Building! – Could we construct a bridge strong enough to support a rubber duck for 10 seconds? The pupils were up for the challenge.

🧱 LEGO Structure Design! – With one of the garden’s wooden structures damaged by storms, we were challenged to create a new version using LEGO. It had to be strong, creative and in keeping with the spirit of the garden.

It was a day full of learning, creativity and fun, and it was even better shared with our friends from St Joseph’s. A huge thank you to all the staff and organisers who helped make this joint experience one to remember. 🌟👏

🔹 SHANARRI Indicators:

• Achieving: Pupils developed skills in STEM and problem-solving
• Healthy: Outdoor learning supported wellbeing and physical activity
• Included: Everyone participated and collaborated across schools

🔹 UNCRC Rights of the Child:

• Article 28: Right to education
• Article 29: Education must develop every child’s personality and talents
• Article 31: Right to relax, play, and take part in cultural and creative activities

🔹 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Goal 4: Quality Education
• Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Our school fundraiser coffee morning was made even sweeter thanks to the hard work of our Primary 5 and Primary 1 to Primary 4 students!

Primary 5 took the lead in making buttery, crumbly shortbread. They practiced important skills like measuring ingredients carefully, mixing the dough, and baking it to golden perfection. Their teamwork and focus really paid off — the shortbread smelled and tasted amazing!

Meanwhile, our younger friends from Primary 1 to Primary 4 got busy making colourful, chocolatey rocky road. They measured, mixed, and stirred all the yummy ingredients like marshmallows, biscuits, and chocolate. Everyone worked together cooperatively, sharing tasks and encouraging each other.

Both groups helped prepare these tasty treats to sell at the coffee morning, raising funds for our school. It was wonderful to see children of all ages learning practical skills, working as a team, and having fun while helping a great cause.

Thank you to all the students, teachers, and families who supported the event — together we made it a huge success raising £761!

UNCRC Articles related to the baking and fundraiser

• Article 12: Children have the right to express their views and be listened to.
  — Children planned and worked together, sharing ideas and cooperating during the baking activities.
• Article 28: Every child has the right to education.
  — Learning new skills like measuring, mixing, and baking is part of their education.
• Article 29: Education should develop every child’s talents and abilities.
  — Through cooking and teamwork, children develop practical skills and confidence.
• Article 31: Every child has the right to relax, play, and take part in cultural and artistic activities.
  — Baking and cooperating with friends is a fun and creative activity that supports well-being.

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Global Goals (Sustainable Development Goals) related to the baking and fundraiser

• Goal 4: Quality Education
  — The children are developing important life skills and working collaboratively, which supports quality learning.
• Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  — The fundraiser teaches children about contributing to their community and supporting local causes.
• Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
  — The fundraiser helps build a sense of community and supports equal opportunities for all children.
• Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals
  — The activity shows how working together—students, teachers, and families—can achieve great things.