On Thursday 30^th April the school library hosted an author visit from Sam Hepburn arranged through the Scottish Book Trust.   S1 pupils enjoyed Sam’s talk on being a writer and how she was inspired to write her young adult murder mystery novels ‘chasing the Dark’ and ‘If You Were Me’.   Pupils then had the opportunity to ask Sam questions and buy copies of her novels which she was also happy to sign.

After the disappointment of the Scottish cup semi-final being postponed because of the weather, the Braidhurst under fifteen squad were eager to get off to a good start in the match against very tough opponents in the shape of Grange Academy.

Braidhurst dominated early possession and looked the more likely to score with several chances forcing the keeper to make a save or just narrowly missing the target.   However against the run of play, it was Grange who took the lead.   After putting pressure on the Braidhurst defence, the ball broke to their left winger who played a low driven cross into the box, which the striker finished in the bottom corner.

This was a huge setback for Braidhurst, but they were determined to get it back, and straight away began to have more of the ball and made Grange chase the ball.   They continued to play balls into the final third but they were not quite making their targets.   With ten minutes to go before half time, Reece Geddes picked up the ball in midfield and with some empty space in front of him ran forwards and unleashed a venomous trike which was destined for the top corner.   The keeper did very well to get over to the shot but the power was just too much for him and he spilled it, to allow James Miller to smash home the equaliser from close range.   In the last few minutes of the half, Cameron Clark come very close to scoring after a superb shot from the edge of the box which hit the post and rolled along the goal line.

The second half began much like the first half and Braidhurst looked the more likely team to score.   The game was getting more frantic as time elapsed.   The Braidy strikers began to find more space in and around the box but could not convert these chances into goals.   As the game entered the last 10 minutes it looked as if it may go to penalties.   However, as Braidhurst pushed forward, they were awarded a free kick just inside the Grange half.   Lewis Gamble played an excellent ball into the back post and Tom Leighton was on hand to knock the ball into the net.   The score was now 2-1 with very little time left.   The boys worked very hard not to ensure that Grange did not have any goal scoring opportunities and after some last ditch defending managed to scramble the ball away.   With that, the final whistle sounded and Braidhurst had made it into the Scottish Cup final.

Well done to all the boys in the squad, they were a credit to themselves, parents and the school.

It was with sadness that the school recently were informed that the Scottish FA coach Gordon Craig was leaving the Performance scheme based in the school.   Gordon has been in the school for three years and has done a tremendous job in coaching approximately sixty players based in the school through the initiative.   The rector Mr Derrick Hannan said, “We are all really sad to see Gordon moving on but fully appreciate his business and personal reasons for doing so.   He has made a fantastic job of coaching the players these past three years”.   Gordon himself praised the scheme and players involved as well as thanking the Braidhurst High staff for their support over the past years.   Neil Mackintosh from the Scottish FA presented Gordon with a framed Scotland strip which had been signed by each of the players on the scheme.

Study leave and SQA examinations have now started with many pupils still taking advantage of tuition by attending lessons in the school between examinations.

A Parents’ Night was held last week for the trip to Paris which will take place in June.   The meeting was extremely well attended and both parents and pupils were given the opportunity to meet the staff involved in the trip and also to familiarise themselves with the itinerary.   Staff going on the trip are Mrs Eleanor Magowan (PT Modern Languages), Dr Peter Gardner (Chemistry), Mr Zaf Hussain (Physics), Mr Peter Brandon (History), Ms Jen McKenna (Technical) and Mrs Linda McGurk (Partnership Officer).   The pupils will spend a fun packed week engaging in a variety of activities.   They will visit the theme parks of Asterix, Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios.   They will also see all of the famous sights in Paris such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, The Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame Cathedral.   Also included are a boat trip along the River Seine, a guided tour of the Stade de France, a visit to a hypermarket and an evening spent at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, where they will enjoy a ‘cowboy’ dinner!

All pupils are extremely excited about the trip and cannot wait to use their knowledge of the French language and to find out more about French culture.

School of Football trials have now been completed with the final selection based upon interviews and school reports to be made in the next few days.  The quality of applicants was very high indeed and the coaching staff deliberated for a long time prior to making their suggested group to be included to start in August.

Staff and pupils at Braidhurst High School are buzzing with excitement for the arrival of their first colony of honeybees.   Pupils have been working closely with Warren Bader of Plan Bee Ltd to learn more about the life cycle of bees and how they organise and build their hives.

Mr Bader was full of praise for the stellar efforts of the pupils and was extremely impressed with the enthusiasm and drive they have brought to the project under the guidance of Geography teacher Kirsty Logan.   Soon they will learn to manage and extract honey from their own hive, which has been decorated to commemorate the Centenary of World War 1.