Forty of our S1 pupils were challenged to brave hailstones, rain, sleet and snow on Thursday to climb to the top of Tinto Hill in Biggar. In the weeks leading up to the challenge they learned about St Andrew’s Hospice and the work they do with terminally ill patients and their families from all over Lanarkshire. Once they learned that the charity needed £57,000 a week to run the hospice, our pupils were eager to raise as much money as they could. Undeterred by the weather, and spurred on knowing they were raising money for the charity, each of them reached the summit in under 2 hours. A great effort for a great cause.

On Thursday past, thirty three S3 pupils from Braidhurst High School made the short journey to M & D’s theme park as part of the ‘Celebrating Success’ programme. This trip was awarded to pupils who had consistently achieved merits throughout the year. A cloudburst at the start of the day threatened to spoil things for the group. However, the weather quickly changed and the pupils (and staff) were able to fully enjoy themselves. This was an extremely successful trip which was enjoyed by everyone involved with the Braidhurst pupils representing the school excellently.

Braidhurst’s U/15’s football team progressed to their third successive Lanarkshire Cup Final after a well deserved win against Holy Cross HS from Hamilton. Playing in very challenging windy conditions Braidhurst pressed from the start with the impressive Scott Brownlie at the heart of all Braidhurst attacking moves. It was no surprise that when Braidhurst broke the deadlock in 8 minutes that it was Scott Brownlie who supplied the finish. The pattern of play was set and before half time a further Brownlie goal and a delicate lob from Aaron Gray gave Braidhurst a 3-0 lead. Injury forced some changes to the Braidhurst team at half time, but the performance remained unaffected as they continued to dominate and ran out comfortable winners 6-2. Braidhurst now face Taylor HS in the final. Braidhurst goal scorers were Brownlie (2), Gray, McNeill, Payne, Moore.

Rehearsals for Bugsy Malone, this year’s school show, have been going really well. Tickets costing between £2 and £4 are now available from Mrs Jen Hunter at the school (Tel No 01698 274999).

Examinations are almost complete and pupils have now returned to school from study leave. The attendance and conduct throughout the examination period was exemplary.

Prizegiving will take place on the last day of term, Thursday 27^th June, starting at 10.30 am. Prizewinners will be notified very soon.

A group of S3 pupils studying German visited the Goethe Institute this week, as part of the Curriculum for Excellence for Modern Languages focus on a broad general education. Accompanied by Miss Dawn Lennox, teacher of French and German, they took part in exhibition on the theme of popular Grimms’ Fairy Tales and they were able to extend their knowledge of German culture through a guided tour of posters and exhibits depicting scenes from and offering information about famous tales such as Rotkappchen (Red Riding Hood). Aschenputtel (Cinderella) and Schneewittchen (Snow White), led by members of the Goethe Institute. A fairytale was narrated to the pupils in German, and they took part in a number of language activities including games and quizzes in the foreign language. The pupils were encouraged to discuss recurring themes in the fairytales, such as the role of animals and the depiction of universal qualities such as jealousy, conceit and greed.

All pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were able to practise their listening, reading and talking skills, as well as learning new German vocabulary and finding out interesting facts pertaining to German folklore.