What a fantastic start to the new school year we had yesterday! 208 smart, cheerful and enthusiastic pupils turned up in the morning and spent the rest of the day impressing their teachers with their superb attitude, effort and work. Our new Primary 1 children were particularly impressive and settled in quickly to their first day in school. Well done to every St Bart’s pupil… keep up the great work!

I was unable to make the announcement before the summer holidays, but Mrs Smillie officially retired as our senior clerical assistant at the end of July. Mrs Smillie was the first point of contact for many new St Bartholomew’s parents and a friendly, familiar face to pupils, staff and parents alike throughout the ten years she worked in the school office. She will be greatly missed, but we wish her a very long and happy retirement. There will be an opportunity for parents and carers to contribute to a gift for Mrs Smillie over the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, Mrs Smillie has yet to be replaced and this will place additional pressure on the school office over the coming days and weeks. Please bear with us in this period of transition: it may take us longer to answer the phone, deal with queries or process admin. Thank you for your support.

A list of dates for the coming year will be sent out next week. However, please can I give advanced notice of an additional holiday for St Bartholomew’s pupils. The school will be used as a polling station on THURSDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER and will be closed to pupils on this day. Thursday 22nd is the day immediately prior to the September weekend so will mean an extra long weekend for pupils… and perhaps an opportunity for some of our families to plan an extra day away at the caravan, especially if we’re blessed with warm weather next month.