Greenfaulds High School | Provider of Mainstream & Gaelic Education For North Lanarkshire

Head Teacher Blog

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope you have had a good week.

And, just like that we have 1 week left. As I left my car last night and was thinking about the blog this week, it doesn’t seem that long that I was welcoming pupils back in August! However, then when you consider all the great things which have taken place this school session I also think, how did we fit all that in? This week, I’ve spent 3 days at St Ambrose as part of an authority team. Whilst it has been an absolute pleasure to visit another NLC school and engage in discussions with their staff and pupils I really do miss not being in our school.

As always, if you have any questions in relation to the information contained within this blog or any other school matter please do not hesitate to be in touch with the school. Moreover, I’m always delighted to share good news of pupil achievements outside of school as many pupils are participating at an exceptionally high level in a range of activities. If your son/daughter is involved in something, please do share this with me.

Outstanding success – Scottish Schools’ Athletics

Yet another fantastic set of results at national level saw Greenfaulds High School receive the Paisley Trophy for a second time recently – recognising our girls as the ‘highest scoring school team in the country’ at the Scottish Schools’ Athletics Championships. This really is a significant achievement given the resources and number of athletes entered by some of the other large and independent schools. The tone was set early with Gold’s from the U18 Girls relay and our Hammer Throwers. It’s also a reflection of the opportunities our pupils have both in school and with Cumbernauld Athletics Club who provide such a depth of expertise within their coaching programme. The significant input of our families helping to get athletes to venues is something we don’t take for granted! Thank to all involved in such a successful season. Our boys also did us proud, with the S3 boys (U16) fielding 2 teams at the National Relay Championships. They managed to secure a silver medal on their debut outing at this level which was amazing. Jay Nelson of S3 was part of this team, and has now made the semi-final of the both Indoor 60m and Outdoor 100m this year – a great first year competing at this level!

It is worth special mention that Sophie Robertson who is leaving school after S5 this year, has had an especially successful few years developing as a hammer thrower. She is currently ranked as the UK#1, has won both the Scottish and English Schools’ Championships, and is the leading contender for selection in the Great Britain U18 Team to compete at the European Championships in Italy during July. We wish her every success in her future athletics career. Watch this space!

With a number of younger pupils enjoying athletics we hope for continued success in coming years. Cross Country and Road Running results this year were superb too, so 2025-26 has been an outstanding success for Greenfaulds High

Gold Medals

U18 Girls 4x100m – Sophie Riddell, Ava Gaffney, Lucy Riddell, Niah Taylor

U20 Girls Javelin – Jess Young

U20 Girls High Jump – Ava Anderson

U18 Girls Hammer Thro – Sophie Robertson

U16 Girls Hammer Throw – Laura Howat

Silver Medal

U18 Girls Javelin – Emily Allison

U16 Boys 4x100m Relay – Brodie Geddes, Jay Nelson, Calum Curtis, Brandon Martin

Good luck to Brodie and Rosie

Next week, Brodie Geddes S4 and his sister Rosie, soon to be S1, are heading off to Sarrian, France to compete in the BMX European Championships 2026. Brodie and Rosie qualified to represent Great Britain in both the World and European Championships by finishing in the top 14 of their national series categories in 2025. Brodie is currently ranked 10th nationally, and Rosie is ranked 8th. While the World Championships in Australia were out of reach this year.

At this level, our main expectations are for them to gain valuable experience and have fun. Both riders are already setting their sights on the 2027 World Championships in the Haute-Savoie region of France and have been training and racing in the British National Series this year to ensure they qualify.

In addition to representing Great Britain, they will be representing their club, Cumbernauld Centurions, and their team, Astar BMX Racing—Scotland’s first independent BMX race team. Both organisations have been a fantastic support throughout their journey.

Wishing them all the very best.

Thistle – Inter House Winners

The Inter House Competition this year has been fought over by the 6 houses in a range of activities with Thistle running out the winners. Liam Roberts one of the Junior House Captains has shared his views on this win

I’m delighted that Thistle have won the house cup for the first time in many years. Thistle have emerged victorious thanks to the students who have participated in the interhouse competitions this year, whether it be sports, baking, or chess. Interhouse competitions are open for all, and it’s been great to see a variety of pupils throughout the year participating for Thistle. Undoubtedly, the house has an incredible amount of skills, qualities, and talent, demonstrated in one example by the other Thistle Junior House Captain, Eva, who has been doing Rugby try-outs for the Scotland team! A win for Thistle would not have been possible without Mrs Jeffrey and the other members of staff who have made all of the events possible. A huge thank you goes out to everyone in Thistle who has participated in events, or those who supported Thistle in events this year. Here’s to another win next year!

Senior Golf Champion

Well done to the senior boys who braved terrible conditions last Friday to contest the Senior Golf Championship. The score cards took a battering with few opportunities to score low. Having said that, Jack Starrs (5LE) managed to get round the Palacerigg Course in a commendable score for the conditions to retain the trophy for a second year!

Mr Neil has kindly supplied a photo of Jack with the help of AI to improve the weather conditions in the background!

Qualifications Scotland – Results, Certificates. Appeals

Please click on the link below for helpful information re’ Results, Certificates and Appeals.

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/78173.html

My Qualifications Scotland

Should pupils want to receive their results by Text and/or Email as well as by Post, they should register with My Qualifications Scotland asap. Should they need any assistance with this, they should see Mrs Beattie. Home

Alton Towers

On Tuesday of this week, over 180 pupils from Greenfaulds had a reward day in Alton Towers. A long day on the road including leaving and returning in the wee small hours was a great day with pupils representing our school community brilliantly.

Gaelic Family Learning Week

I was contacted this week by the Community Learning and Development Team about the following opportunity for families with pupils studying Gaelic:

We’re pleased to announce that Seachdain nan Teaghlach (Family Learning Week) will be returning to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in the Isle of Skye 6–10 July 2026.

This is a week-long event which offers families with children in Gaelic-medium education the opportunity to develop their language skills together in an all-Gaelic environment and to mix with families from a similar background from different parts of the country. Parents will have the opportunity to attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig’s language courses throughout the week, while their children take part in a wide range of Gaelic-medium activities, bringing families together in the evenings for a mix of family-friendly Gaelic-medium social events. The link for more information is here:

https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/family-week-2026/?lang=en

Gaelic Job Opportunity

A bheil Gàidhlig agaibh? A bheil thu ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig no fileanta? A bheil ùidh agaibh ann an cànan agus cultar Gàidhlig?

Working within the Community Learning & Development team you will be responsible for supporting the delivery of CLD services as part of the Community Learning and Development Service, with a focus on community-based Gaelic services.

Your role will be to support the delivery of Gaelic language classes for adult learners in line with the North Lanarkshire Gaelic language plan, and CLD funding agreement.

CLD Support Worker (Gaelic) (Temporary) (Part Time) (Term Time) – REQ05952 – 474254 | North Lanarkshire Council | myjobscotland

North Lanarkshire Mod

The North Lanarkshire Mòd will take place on 18th and 19th September at Greenfaulds High School.

A Mòd is a traditional Scottish festival that celebrates Gaelic language, culture, and music. It brings people together to take part in a wide variety of competitions and performances, helping to promote and preserve Gaelic heritage while also welcoming those with no prior experience of the language.

The event includes a range of competitions in singing and recitation for both Gaelic and non-Gaelic

speakers, making it accessible and inclusive for all learners. There are also opportunities to participate in duets, piping, and choir competitions, allowing individuals and groups to showcase their talents in a supportive and celebratory environment.

Please see the link below for the full syllabus and entry form.

Mòd Ionadail Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath Syllabus- 2026 – Google Docs

Access to the school

As part of a review on building security, we have now moved to the main doors at the front and rear of the building being locked during class time. This is to ensure that only people can access our school via the visitor entrance and sign in at reception. If your young person is running late for any reason can you remind them of this and that they need to come in through the guest entrance. Thank you.

Support for pupils with ASN

As a parent with a child who has an additional support need, I know that information can be particularly helpful to ensure you are supporting your young person in the best possible way. The Support for Learning department work closely with Speech and Language therapy, Occupational Therapy, Hope for Autism and the Neurodevelopmental Team. If your child is on a waiting list to see any of the services, or have been given an identification of an Additional Support need, the following Facebook pages may be useful to you. They share hints and tips, have rolling programmes of local workshops for parents and children on common themes such as Sleep, Anxiety, language processing, sensory difficulties.

NHS Lanarkshire Children and young people, Occupational Therapy

https://www.facebook.com/share/19hopRtsiN/

Speech and language therapy NHS Lanarkshire

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BevUC39FW/

Neurodevelopmental service-CYS NHS

https://www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/services/neurodevelopmental-service-for-children-and-young-people

Hope for Autism

https://www.hopeforautism.org.uk

Young Scot Cards

Increasingly, the use of Young Scot Cards for our pupils are very important, both in and out of school. As such, if your son/daughter loses their card it can be problematic. We are able to apply for a replacement card on their behalf. However, we would ask that if you would like the school to do this, that parents/carers need to email Mr Adler nladlerp@northlan.org.uk with the students full name, date of birth, a photo, their address to send the card to and give permission to apply for a card.

Child Protection and Safeguarding

If you have concerns of a child protection or safeguarding nature, we would encourage you to use the following information.