Liam Dunnachie and Niamh Speirs of S4 played leading roles in the recent Allanton Jolly Beggars Burns Club Annual Burns Supper, held at the Cambusnethan Club. Elizabeth Totten, the Club’s President offered warm words of welcome to Niamh and to Liam and to Miss Claire Douglas of the English department, who accompanied them.

Liam proposed a witty, and often stinging ‘Toast to the Lassies’ in which he paid reluctant homage to the country’s ‘bonnie lassies’, much to the great amusement of his fellow males in the audience and the friendly hostility of the women.

Not to be outdone, and ensuring the ladies had the last and most powerful word, Niamh’s rebuff made it patently clear to all males present their very being and tranquility in life was down solely to the direction and leadership and superior intellect of their better halves!

The school would like to thank the AJB Club for their kind invitation and generous hospitality.

Mrs Elizabeth Totten (centre) keeps apart the ‘duelling’ Niamh and Liam!

Congratulations to the 9 participants in the school’s inaugural S1 Burns Poetry Recitation Competition. Iona Orr, Abby Cockburn and Emily Lang recited for Curran House. Rachel Lees, Rebecca Finlayson and Megan Young were Sneddon’s champions. Cara Sinnett, Ellie Docherty and Simone Ward represented Houldsworth House.

All of the pupils recited Burns poems or extracts from poems to a packed theatre and to judges, Mr Sommerville and Mrs Elizabeth Totten, President of the local Allanton Jolly Beggars Burns Club.

The standard was outstanding, with Cara Sinnett declared the overall winner with her wonderful rendition of the sardonic verse ‘To a Louse’. Cara and team-mates, Ellie and Simone captured first place for Houldsworth and the important 3 points for first place. Iona, Abby and Emily took the 2 points for Curran House. Rachel, Rebecca and Megan were a close third and took 1 point for Sneddon House.

The school would like to thank Mrs Totten for generously giving up her time to support this new event in the Inter House calendar.

Mrs Elizabeth Totten (centre) with the S1 Inter House Burns presenters.

 Cara was delighted to receive her Certificate of Excellence and winner’s prize of an anthology of the work of Robert Burns.

Cara Sinnett proudly holds her prize for winning the recent Burns Recitation Competition.

Congratulations to Liam McGhie (1C1) and Lachlan Kyle (1C1) on producing outstanding performances at last week’s North Lanarkshire Secondary Schools Badminton Championships held at the Ravenscraig Sports Centre.

Liam reached the semi-finals of the Under 13 Boys singles competition, before being beaten by the eventual tournament winner in a close contest. Liam then partnered Lachlan to compete in the Under 14 Doubles Championship. And again, the boys did exceptionally well to reach the semi-final, once more falling to the eventual winners.

And, congratulations to our senior badminton players who also acquitted themselves well in the senior events. Neil McIntyre, Reece McCarrison, Fraser Simpson, Adam Lawson and Ross Garrard all competed strongly in the round-robin tournament format. Fraser played reached the quarter finals, but lost out to the eventual winner.