Braidhurst pupils celebrated the European Festival of Languages last week and engaged in a variety of activities across many departments. Within the Modern Languages Department, S1 pupils took part in ‘Qui veut gagner de millions?’ in French, the winners being Claire Keatings and William Crosbie from class 1A who managed to reach a million pounds using only one lifeline! In addition, S1 classes made greetings cards and gift tags containing vocabulary in many different European languages. S2 pupils worked in groups and used their skills of research and teamwork to design a poster containing information eg. Food, language, geography, history about a European country of their choice and these were displayed in the Modern Languages corridor. S2 will also enjoy a French breakfast next week, as part of their ‘Food and Drink’ topic.

Physical Education teacher, Miss Joanne Lilly, organised a French boules tournament for her S2 class, which took place outside and proved the pupils to be extremely competitive! Chemistry teacher, Dr Peter Gardner, taught a National 4 Chemistry lesson partly in German and a National 5 and Higher lesson in French, much to the delight of his pupils! Ms Ruth Watson of the Biology Department devised a quiz on the topic of famous European scientists and the pupils with the most correct answers were the recipients of prizes. In the English department, Mrs Maureen Kinnaird involved her S1 class in activity whereby pupils had to define a list of common French words and phrases in general use in the English language. In Home Economics, Depute Head Teacher Mrs Anne Macdonald in liaison with Mrs Eleanor Magowan, PT Modern Languages, organised French pancake making, using a French recipe, with her S3 class and the pancakes were severed to pupils who visit the school Hub.

Elsewhere, other staff tried to promote languages by using greetings from other countries in class and by referring to European themes, eg Art and Social Subjects and ICT (through European language games online) in their lessons.

The whole school worked well as a team with the aim of extending the pupils’ knowledge of the language and culture of other countries in Europe and all pupils thoroughly enjoyed their experiences. It was an excellent example of cross-curricular learning and both staff and pupils are already working on ideas for next year’s celebrations!

Braidhurst U/16’s recently began their Scottish Cup campaign with a home tie against Greenfaulds HS from Cumbernauld. Braidhurst squandered a number of early chances before Greenfaulds took the lead against the run of play. This pattern of play was continued until half time when despite the majority of possession Braidhurst found themselves down 3-1 at the interval. The introduction of Jordan Molina and Kyle Courtie gave the home team a new lease of life. Subsequently, they dominated scoring two quick goals courtesy of Josh Payne. Greenfaulds showed great spirit to come back and retake the lead with 20 minutes remaining. However, Braidhurst would not be denied and a further two goals from Josh Payne, the last in the dying seconds, sealed a great comeback win for Braidhurst.

S4-6 Modern Studies pupils were delighted to welcome Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale to speak with them on Thursday the 12^th of September. They were pleased to have the opportunity to ask the ex-First Minister of Scotland questions about current political issues and his work in the House of Lords. Characteristically, Lord McConnell was open and engaging, welcoming the thought provoking questions asked by pupils. All of the pupils involved commented positively on the experience, with many saying that they felt privileged to have spoken to such a high ranking, yet down to earth politician. Callum Brown, of S6 said “I asked Lord McConnell about whether or not he supported the decrease in voter age for the upcoming referendum on independence. He answered this very clearly, providing me with a great deal of information on his viewpoint. His answers were far more straightforward and less political than I expected. This has gone some way to strengthening my faith in politicians and the political system. I would not have missed this unique opportunity.” Joanne Kerr, PT Social Subjects, said “As always it was fantastic to have the support of Lord McConnell, especially when we consider how busy he is. All of my pupils have spoken very enthusiastically about his visit.” Thanks go to Mrs Anna Chisholm, a long serving member of staff, for helping arrange this event.

Following recent interviews, House Captains have been selected for the session. In recognition of the increased return to fifth and sixth years it was decided to appoint five House Captains for each House. Atholl House captains will be Falaknaz Khan, Azhar Khan, Lisa Robertson, Calum Reford and Chloe Wishart. Lorne House will be represented by Abbie O’Shea, Shannon Duncanson, Samuel Biggart, Danielle McNamara and Liam Reid. In Morven House, Amy Kerr, Melissa McCaw, William Adam, Scott Cooper and Dayle Archibald have been selected, with Rannoch being represented by Jamie Buchanan, Ashley Storrier, Hayley Sloan, Helena Montague and Hannah Allan.

Councillor Michael Ross recently visited the school to present four young students with their Princess Diana Award certificate and badge. This was a tremendous achievement by the four young people, three of whom have just finished sixth year, with one returning to complete sixth year. The recipients were Gemma Park, David Kirk, Jacob Smith and Dayle Archibald. The Rector, Mr Derrick Hannan, said “The entire school join with me in warmly congratulating these young people in winning these prestigious awards. It is in recognition of the quite outstanding service they have made to the school community and beyond”.

Braidhurst High School hosted its annual Summer Transition Programme last week. A large group of young people took part in a wide range of curricular activities including science, art, PE, photography and special effects makeup. The Summer Programme helps ease the transition from primary to secondary and gives young people the opportunity to meet new friends, meet members of staff and find their way around the school building before the start of term. On the final day the group went to Blair Drummond Safari Park for fun with the sea lions, giraffes and lions.