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.

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.