August 27, 2025
by Mr Healy
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Welcome to AY 2025/26

Our Academic Year is now well under way and what a delight it has been to welcome our pupils to school following the summer break.

New beginnings

Our S1 class have now formally made their move up to the Secondary School following a number of days of transition, lessons and activities last term.

With the new school year, we also have a number of new staff working in different departments of the school. We are delighted to have Mrs. Alison Shearer (Play support worker), Ms. Dione Pottinger (Learning Support in Nursery), Ms. Emily Robertson (Senior Practitioner in ELC), Ms. Chloe Cheyne (P.E. – Probationer) and Mrs. Kari Hamilton (Business Management – in addition to ASN Secondary) as part of our team.

Revised Mission

Following extensive consultation with pupils, parents and staff, we have updated our school’s mission to be a ‘Connected Community of Learners’. This recognises the power and strength of our community in Whalsay whilst also recognising the importance of being on a continued lifelong journey of learning. I would like to thank all staff, pupils and parents for contributing to our various school self-evaluation tasks at the end of last term.

Raising the profile of Reading in Secondary

One of the most powerful and important skills that we can continually practice and develop is reading with and to our young people. Developing our language skills helps us to understand, interpret and respond across a range of curriculum areas.

With the importance of reading in mind, Ms. Holzheimer has designed an exciting and engaging reading challenge for all pupils to take part in.

Part of the challenge is to read with an adult for 10 minutes every night. I would be grateful if you can support and engage with this challenge as a family. We will certainly be promoting the reading challenge very visibly in school!

To further support the development of the pupils reading skills, we are trialing a further initiative of ‘book in a bag’. This ensures that pupils always have a book accessible to them and teachers in other subjects may dedicate 5-10 mins of their lesson to reading to further instill the positive language development habits.

Celebrating pupil success

Last term, we had a group of pupils working with the Heritage Centre as part of our community engagement and Wider Achievement program. I am delighted to share and notify you that the group’s film has been selected to be shown at the Homemade event in Mareel on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th September. I would like to pass on my congratulations to all our pupils who were involved and everyone who was part of the process. We have our fingers crossed for securing a prize for the Shetland dialect category.

June 27, 2025
by Mrs Constable
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Whalsay School & AHS Ski Trip 2025

Whalsay School joined Anderson High School on a joint school trip to Italy in March 2025!

It was a rough start on the Northlink ferry with high winds and large waves to endure on the crossing to Aberdeen. Everyone grouped together to support each other throughout this journey, forming new friendships from the very start.

It was a long coach journey through the UK, France and into Italy but all remained in good spirits with many funs and laughter along the way.

When we arrived in Italy, it was straight to the Ski resort to get kitted out for the week of ski activities ahead. It was very amusing trying to coordinate walking around in ski boots! We then settled into our hotel to prepare for the week ahead.

Day 1 – Skiing & Town tour with ice-cream

A mixture of nerves and excitement to get started on the slopes. We got our skis on and sorted into our mixed ski groups. We met our instructors who started us out on the baby slopes. We were all really poor in our abilities to begin with – lots of falls, laughter and uncoordinated limbs! Skiing was not an easy skill to quickly master! With great encouragement, guidance and support from the instructors, and each other, we all progressed to safely navigate the first slope of the trip! Success!!

With a lot of tired legs, we stretched our muscles with a long walk through the town, making a stop along an ice-cream café for a treat. The Italian ice-cream was brilliant!! Some managed to squeeze in an extra-scoop or two J

The town was beautiful and calm with some musical entertainment provided along the way. The weather was nice and warm considering we were on a mountain!

Day 2 – Skiing & Bowling with Arcade

Some groups progressed to different levels on day 2, to further challenge each ability. This brought the added challenge to coordinate ski lifts fur advancing further up the mountain! The ski lifts provided some great views of the mountains, and some much-needed rest for the legs! Ski instructors were great at explaining how to navigate the slopes – using pizza position for slowing/stopping and chips position for stopping across hills.

This ski day was followed by a trip to the bowling arcade, which did not disappoint! The bright lights of the arcade thrilled all with a pupil commenting “everybody was crazy”! This was a great night with everyone mixing together, having laughs and making treasured memories.

Day 3 – Skiing & Pizza evening

Everyone gained more confidence in their skiing abilities on day 3, with more groups advancing on to trickier slopes (red!). The red slopes were slightly steeper and longer than the blue slopes. The red slopes were further up the mountain with more powdery snow. Skiers also had the chance to take a scenic route through the trees. Everyone loved this route!

Everyone was treated to an all-you-can-eat pizza night at an Italian pizzeria. The freshly made pizzas were delicious, with many scrambling to eat as many slices as possible! This was great fuel for our final day on the slopes.

Day 4 – Final Skiing Day & Presentation Evening with hot chocolate

On the final day of skiing, since all had gained confidence in their skiing abilities, pupils were granted permission to take their phones on to the slopes to take some photos. One ski group navigated the full way down the mountain on the last day, completing all the red slopes!

The final day was great fun but overwhelming with emotions on the success of all pupils on the trip and the fact it was almost time to head home! The ski instructors presented pupils with their ski certificates. All pupils gained a recognised skiing level based on their skills demonstrated on the slopes. This was a great presentation with the scenic mountains as a beautiful backdrop for group photos. All were treated to a deliciously thick hot chocolate to round off the ski trip.

After our final trip down the gondola, we took a quick trip to a supermarket and another walk through the town. The supermarket was massive, you could pretty much buy anything from a new tv to a rotisserie chicken! It was really good to experience other cultures and try out some new treats! It was also great to walk through the town again, buying some souvenirs from our trip.

All the staff at Interski spoke highly of the pupils, stating that they rarely see this rate of advancement of ski groups up the slopes in a few days of skiing. They commented on the positive attitudes and behaviour from all and we are all very proud of their accomplishments.

This was a great combined trip by all pupils in both schools. New friendships were formed, staff met with new pupils, and there were plenty of laughs, cheers and celebrations throughout the week! With great new friendships formed, all pupils mixed together whilst travelling, playing cards and having fun on the boat on the way home. This trip was overall a great success between both schools!

Check out our slideshow from the trip using the following link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGo3VO41zk/poYhJIUa8seCJdZdTgX2tg/watch?utm_content=DAGo3VO41zk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hd04687d6b5

June 15, 2025
by Mr Healy
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Celebrating YPI success

S3 pupils at Whalsay School have continued to take part in the national Youth Philanthropy Initiative this year. YPI is the largest independent programme delivered in Scottish education and provides young people with the opportunity to research and explore social issues that exist in the local community. Under the guidance of Ms.Carr and Mrs.Dunbar, pupils followed a structured program of study which required the use and development of research, teamwork, presentation and competition skills with the opportunity to secure £3,000 for the chosen charities.

This cohort of pupils, who have recently made the transition to S4, had groups who liaised and connected with The Fisherman’s Mission, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Whalsay Heritage Centre, Alzheimer Scotland and Shoard charity shop, Whalsay.

With thanks to Miss Irvine for coordinating arrangements, Mrs. Irvine for presenting the event and our judging panel, our school YPI finals event was held on the afternoon of Wednesday 7th May. We were delighted to welcome members of the local community, representatives from the different charities, Lavinia Schmidt as local YPI leader, Gayle Duffus from the Wood Foundation and pupils from a range of year groups. Thanks to Kate Wills and Ella Irvine who were on the judging panel and analysed all presentations in great detail before the winning team was selected

Our pupils impressed us all when sharing their knowledge and insights on the day; highlighting different social issues and the important work carried out by charities in the area. Congratulations were extended to Brooke Robertson and Carrie Lipthorpe representing Shoard charity shop who were selected as the Whalsay School winners.

Accompanied by Mr.Healy, Brooke and Carrie joined fellow winners from Brae High School and the Anderson High School and travelled south to attend the National YPI finals which were held at the Perth Concert Hall. We were lucky enough to listen to inspiring key note speeches from a range of contributors from different areas of society and a host of pupil led presentations from different schools across Scotland which highlighted issues such as addiction, mental health and support for new parents. It was an insightful, informative and inspiring trip and we congratulate all pupils and staff who contributed to the delivery of this year’s YPI programme.

June 5, 2025
by Miss Holzheimer
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Plant Sale in the Polytunnel

Tomorrow, Friday 6th June, we’ll be offering our first plants grown in the polytunnel for a peerie donation to our gardening fund. We’ll be in the polytunnel between 1 – 2:15 pm and would be delighted if you came for a look around. We’ve got the following plants, both flowers and veg, in peerie pots to take away and grow on at home:

lupins
parsley
cucumber
dill
nasturtiums
marigolds/calendula
savoy cabbage
Brussel sprouts
zinnia
morning glory (a blue climbing flower)
hollyhock.

We also have a huge rosemary bush and would be happy to cut off bits for you to take home. Rosemary is delicious on focaccia!

We can advise you on where to grow your plants and how to look after them.

Here are some photos of the plants we have available:

May 30, 2025
by Miss Irvine
Comments Off on S2 fish and wool Trip

S2 fish and wool Trip

The final topic covered in HE for S2/the new S3 was fishing and agriculture. In class they learned the different species around Shetland and about the seafood sector as well as looking at wool and the Shetland dairy for agriculture. They looked at the huge range of jobs available in each sector and the personal qualities required to be successful in these careers.

On Monday they had a visit to the fish market, Pelagia and the Wool broker in Lerwick organised with support from our work experience organiser Emily Von Tonder who also arranged funding for the transport. It was a great opportunity for the pupils to see the importance of fishing and wool to the local economy and learn about their recognition and impact worldwide.

Our first stop was the fish market, Norma Anderson explained the dutch auction to us and how the fish was auctioned around the world. The bairns could watch the auction take place through the window and on a screen. Norma also spoke through the timeline of fish being caught and brought to market. Miranda took the bairns through to the market to see how fish was landed and with plenty of landings in, they saw a range o species including monkfish, haddock, cod, lemon sole, halibut as well as different sizes.

It was interesting to hear about the different jobs in the market, the competition between boats and buyers and the importance of working hard and having pride in your work to build up a good reputation for your boat.

Next was a whistle stop tour of Pelagia, with herring and mackerel being out of season it was a good chance to have a look around the empty factory and machinery used to process fish. Three of the four adults accompanying the trip were former fish factory workers and were surprised at the changes inside factories and the increase of machinery and technology over the years.

We had a quick look in the -20 cold store before going outside to see where the fish is pumped ashore, see and hear about the factory in Bressay as well as future expansion works.

We had time to walk around the piers and look at the different boats berthed at the piers before having lunch back at the fish market in the auction room. Norma kindly provided the bairns crisps and a twix and pupils enjoyed having their own mock auctions, you never know, some might end up back working in the fish market in some capacity in a few years time!

After lunch we headed up to the wool brokers and had a fascinating insight into the history of Jamieson and Smith’s. Oliver Henry spoke to the bairns and showed off various fleece colours and grades before going through a timeline of wool products, each with a story to tell.

It’s been a really interesting day and certainly makes you feel proud of our world famous produce and appreciate even more the fish on your plate and the wool in our jumpers.

Some comments from the bairns.

It was cool to see inside Pelagia.

I enjoyed looking at the fish in the fish market.

It was good going for a walk around the pier to see the boats.

I thought the way they did the fish auction was interesting.

Hearing about the history of the wool broker was interesting.

February 28, 2025
by Mr Healy
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Celebrating Wider Achievement

A quick selection of photos from a tour of the different Wider Achievement groups this afternoon. What did I see? Firstly, happy and engaged pupils. That’s always number 1! Enjoyment and taking pride in your work is always so important

Creativity? Absolutely… from works of art to knitting to our sports stars on court.

Teamwork? 100%. I spoke to all Secondary pupils this week about the power of teamwork and looking out for each other. Lots of really great collaboration on show this afternoon.

Community – Wider Achievement offers us a great opportunity to engage with members of our community. To develop skills that can be passed through the generations. To celebrate what is unique about Whalsay, our community and where we are in the world. Our net mending group are a perfect example of this. Kudos to Mrs.Hamilton who was developing her skills too!

January 28, 2025
by Mrs Constable
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STEM visit – Drones

S1 and S2 were visited recently by Emma Chittick from Skills Development Scotland, who delivered a Drones Workshop to engage pupils in STEM subjects by applying them to the world of work. S2 pupils commented that “we learned teamwork/communication skills and being observant along with being able to drive the drone” and learned “what jobs were involved with drones.”

All participants thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the challenges and activities! Most of the pupils had never tried flying a drone before and all agreed they’d definitely like to do it again. An S1 pupil commented “my brother has a drone and I’m going to ask if I can have a go flying that now”. Another said “I really enjoyed it, it was so cool especially when we got the drone to do flips”.

An S2 pupil commented that “We learned what drones can be used for, and how they help us.” After the session the classes had a discussion imagining all kinds of handy uses for drones in the future – the most popular one being the delivery of Chinese take-aways to Whalsay!

Special thank you to Emma for visiting with the drones and delivering a fun and engaging lesson to promote STEM skills and careers.

January 10, 2025
by gw23carrlaurieanne@glow
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Junk Kouture

Junk Kouture is an International Sustainable Fashion Competition using 100% recycled materials to create a design for the catwalk.

We are learning new skills, experimenting with different materials, being creative and working in teams. Pupils are designing outfits based on the fishing and seas around Whalsay. One pupil is basing her design on the Shetland Salmon Farming and another is designing and creating a dress based on pollution in our seas that affect our island. Last year the pupils had a Team meeting with one of the Junk Kouture staff and she gave them great tips and advice, she was very enthusiastic about their ideas.

“I’m am really enjoying taking part of Junk Kouture. I am learning new skills and getting to show off my creativity with my designs.”

experimenting with their Shoard “finds”.

sorting materials.

making a paper model of the design.

Can you help?

We are needing specific recycled materials and would appreciate any help: Fashion Magazines, plastic bottle tops and metal caps, ring-pulls.

Thank you!

Wider Achievement: Enterprise

January 10, 2025 by gw23carrlaurieanne@glow

Over the last term our enterprise group planned to make and sell little trinkets and decorations.

We needle felted with Ann Marie Anderson, making lots of little trinkets, like gonks, Christmas tree ornaments. Most of us loved them so much we took them home. We also made decorations, like balls of wool with knitting needles which we sold at the Whalsay Wool Week “Makin and Yakin” for £3 each. We even got a commission for some more. We made £80 towards materials for further enterprise opportunities for next year. Some people made fairies with pipe cleaners and fabric; little hats with carboard tubes and wool and Christmas cards

Pupils enjoyed the needle felting, making and selling the yarn balls!

The needle felting was considered the best, enjoyed the most and pupils hoped to do it again!

This gallery contains 10 photos

January 10, 2025
by Miss Holzheimer
Comments Off on Crochet in Wider Achievement

Crochet in Wider Achievement

In the last 2 terms in Wider Achievement, we learnt how to crochet. Some of us already knew some basics, others had to start completely from scratch. At the beginning, we all made the same kind of bunny. They all turned out different. Some bunnies were small, others were really big. It depends on your personal style of crocheting and also what wool and hook you use. Some of use decided to leave away arms, tails, or bunny feet, others stayed closer to the original pattern.

Once everybody had finished their bunny, we looked on a pattern website called ravelry and we found things that we wanted to crochet. We made snakes, jelly fish, pigs, mushroom, granny square blankets, birds, beans, frogs and lots of other things. Some of us even managed to make things without a pattern.

After a few weeks, most of us were good enough that we could help others in the group when they had problems. Some even taught their relatives and friends at home how to crochet.

Here are a few statements from some of us:

Annie: “I’ve practised remembering different kinds of crochet stitches.”

Lola: “It’s better than just sitting on devices.”

Morgan: “I have made lots of cool things.”

Bella: “The crochet toys we made are really good to throw at your brothers and sisters. They also make really good gifts – I made 6 gifts for people.”

Geordie: “It get’s easier the more you practise it.”

Neve, Brooke and Flora: “We got to be creative.”

Crochet skills can help with counting, maths, art, hand and eye coordination and lots of other things. Quite a few of us want to finish our crochet projects at home.