Parents of pupils in upper school recently attended a meeting with Mrs Kathryn Clarke, Senior Depute Head Teacher, and the Rector, Mr Derrick Hannan. Parents were taken through a wide range of issues including the process for university application as well as tips for success in Higher grades.

The Braidhurst Parent Teachers and Friends Association recently held a Race Night to raise funds for the school. The event was held in the Davie Cooper suite at Fir Park and raised over £1200. The school would like to thank everyone who donated prizes or sponsored a race for their generous contributions to what was a fantastic night.

This year’s inter-house afternoon gave pupils the opportunity to take part in a range of different events from Table Tennis to Football. Most pupils from S1-S6 were involved in a thoroughly entertaining afternoon.

The results which will be counted towards the inter-house shield for 2013-2014 is as follows:-

Football 1^st Rannoch

2^nd Morven

3^rd Lorne

4^th Atholl

Potted Sports Joint 1^st Atholl and Lorne

3^rd Morven

4^th Rannoch

Table Tennis 1^st Atholl

2^nd Rannoch

3^rd Morven

4^th Lorne

Minute to Win It 1^st Rannoch

2^nd Atholl

3^rd Lorne

4^th Morven

Bake Off 1^st Lorne

2^nd Rannoch

3^rd Morven

4^th Atholl

The Engineering & construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) came to Braidhurst High School with their “Be Part of Engineering” roadshow for S2. The interactive show is aimed at encouraging pupils to choose a worthwhile career in the sector via apprenticeship or university pathways. There is a skills shortage across the UK in many areas of engineering which utilises Maths, Science and technology (Graphic Communication and Design & Manufacture). The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the informative yet funny show where they got to take part in various tasks. Lewis Guy and Lynette Butcher battled in the final quiz to win a £20 voucher.

Higher Geography students at Braidhurst High School came face to face with some of the world’s deadliest animals in their own classroom thanks to Dr Mhairi Stewart and Dr Jane Munday from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology at Glasgow University.

Drs Stewart and Munday came to talk about their work studying parasites and the diseases they cause, and brought with them the female Anopheles mosquito, the carrier of one of the world’s understanding and fighting tropical disease.

Showing them a 4.2 metre long tapeworm in a jar, Dr Stewart told the pupils, “These animals might be really quite ugly to look at but they are perfectly evolved to live, thrive and reproduce in our bodies, bypassing and even hijacking the most advanced defence system known to man, our own immune system”.

As well as the opportunity to study parasites up close pupils were able to carry out hands on experiments with guidance from their guests and their teacher, Kirsty Logan. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and quizzed their guests, gaining a unique insight into the work carried out at Glasgow University.

Parents of pupils in fourth year recently attended an information evening with Mrs Anne Macdonald, Depute in charge of middle school, and the Rector Mr Derrick Hannan. The meeting covered assessment arrangements for the new National 4 and 5 courses as well as offering a range of advice to parents on how they could help their children. Mr Hannan also outlined the wide range of ways the school was supporting pupils in this, the first year of the new courses.

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!