Braidhurst High School joint Dux winner Azhar Khan was the recent recipient of a gold CREST award from the British Science Association. Azhar was issued with the award in recognition of the 70 plus hours he spent during the summer working on a scientific research project at Glasgow University, in conjunction with the Nuffield Foundation. As part of his gold award entry Azhar had to reflect upon and evaluate his project, entitled “Testing for variant CCG and CGG repeats within the CTG DNA repeat expansion in myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients”. His submission was sent to and reviewed by an external evaluator from Aberdeen University, who declared it worthy of the gold award.

The CREST awards scheme is Britain’s largest national award scheme for project work in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). This is a fantastic achievement for Azhar and Braidhurst are delighted at his success.

S3 XL pupils got a chance to explore their creative sides recently. The pupils attended an Arts and employability showcase event held in Cumbernauld Theatre.

The event, organised by North Lanarkshire Council, was set up to let pupils experience workshops held by artists; letting them find out about how they can make a living through the arts.

Amongst the various workshops was an animation workshop, where the pupils were shown how to create their own animations under the guidance of artists from Red Kite Animation Studio, who have created works that have been screened on the CBBC channel. They also had a presentation by Reeltime Music who allowed pupils to play some instruments, showcase their DJ skills on the decks and learn how to create a music video.

The XL groups will select one of the artists to work with over the next few weeks and this will culminate in them creating their own project.

The pupils declared the event to be very worthwhile and inspiring. Scott Law said, “I really enjoyed having a go on the decks and mixing some tunes”. Sadie Rodger stated, “The animation was really good fun and so easy to do”.

All staff in attendance were proud of the effort made by pupils.

Visit the school show homepage for all the info on this year’s show: auditions scripts and times, song info and more!

Click on the picture to visit

Over thirty S6 pupils at Braidhurst High School have volunteered to support first year pupils settled into high school through the Friend in Sixth Year Programme. S6 pupils have all undertaken training with Linda McGurk, Partnership Officer and meet each week with the S1 pupils to discuss any problems or concerns they may have. The peer support not only benefits the new first years, but also the senior pupils, who gain new skills and qualities from helping others. One Friend in Sixth Year commented “I remember what it was like settling into first year so this is a great chance to offer support from my own experiences”.

The Kickstart Theatre Company brought their new production to Braidhurst on Monday. The focus was on safety and making good decisions in relation to personal health and wellbeing. Topics included road safety, smoking, internet safety and vandalism. Visitors from the police and fire service were present to support the comments made through the play. The first year pupils thoroughly enjoyed the performance in particular they found taking part in the rewind performance fun and thought provoking. Congratulations to Craig Devine, Declan Carroll, Claire Keatings and Alexander Patterson who took part with enthusiasm.

A group of 50 pupils and 6 members of staff from Braidhurst will visit Berlin in Germany next June. Travel will be by coach and overnight ferry via Rotterdam in Holland, and time will be spent in the beautiful towns of Hannover and Osnabruck en route. During the trip to the vibrant and impressive capital city of Berlin, pupils will enjoy a guided tour of the Olympic Stadium, experience a panoramic view of the city from the TV tower, visit the very moving Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and the Reichstag Parliament building, and will spend time in the famous Kurfustendamm shopping avenue (where they will visit the KaDWe, the biggest department store in Europe), as well as having a guided tour of the city by coach, with stops at the Jewish memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, the remains of the Berlin Wall and the ultra-modern Sony Centre.

It will be an excellent opportunity for pupils to learn more about the history and culture of the city, as well as allowing those students in the group studying German to practise their language skills in real life situations.

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.