Dunblane High School

Stirling Council Education Services

Dunblane High School

Standards and Quality Report for Session 2014 - 15

Published November 2015

stirling.gov.uk phone 0845 277 7000 text 07717 990 001

1. INTRODUCTION

Session 2014-15 the 41st in our school’s history, was another session of challenge and development for the school during which staff, young people and our parents once again worked together to meet these challenges in increasingly constrained budgetary conditions. Nevertheless we continued with our planned implementation of Curriculum for Excellence in the Senior Phase with the introduction of the new CfE Higher examinations in May 2015 and the embedding of the new courses at National 5 in S4.

Our school has continued its period of sustained improvement since 2010. This has been evident across a range of key indicators. Against this background 2014-15 had a lot to live up to if this improvement was to continue. It is gratifying to report that our SQA examination performance in 2015 once again, and for a fifth successive year, set new records for the school in some key measures (see pages 6 - 8 of this Report).

Moreover, as Sections 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and 4 clearly indicate, there is a great deal more to education in Dunblane High than examination performance. Notwithstanding the focus on preparing our pupils for another set of new national exams this time at Higher, the extensive array of ‘extracurricular’ activities on offer to our young people continued. Very large numbers of pupils participated in an impressive range of clubs, dances, concerts and activities that were run on a daily, weekly and termly basis. Such activities represented once again a truly ‘whole school’ effort since staff who themselves did not run activities frequently helped colleagues who did by covering classes or generally supporting them. Moreover, we continued to enjoy the support of large numbers of parents who were actively involved in the wider life of the school, the most evident perhaps in the impressive number who continued to run the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Scheme.

In 2014-15 we embarked on a major consultation exercise which led to the introduction of the 33 period week in May 2015. This new timetabling structure was not only more efficient but it also made it possible for us to introduce significant enhancements into the curriculum from S1 to S6 most notably the introduction of inserts on Education for Life and Work (EfLW) for every year group and more coherent provision for Personal, Social and Health Education especially in the Senior Phase where a period of core PE was introduced.

We continued the process of embedding some of the major changes of recent years, for example, our approach to recognizing and celebrating achievement, not only in the Annual Awards Ceremony and the use our Pupil (S1-3) and Student (S4-6) Praise Cards and Merit Bars/Badges but also through termly ‘Wider Achievement Assemblies’.

Other aspects of our school life, from our Transition Programme for P7 which now includes regular visits from our three partner primary schools, to our annual Likhubula Day and the work of our ‘Make A Difference’ (MAD) Groups, continued to develop. All this continued to speak volumes about the range and quality of the wider life of Dunblane High and testified to the school’s continued commitment to providing a rounded education so that our young people might, in the words of our motto, Prospice Ultra Montes, “look beyond the mountains”.

Francis P Lennon Head Teacher November 2015

3Standards and Quality Report 2014 – 15

2. PUPIL SUPPORT – 2014/15 REVIEW

We are committed to the education of the whole child and recognise that each child has intellectual, moral, physical and social needs. In order to meet these needs we believe that we must provide the best possible conditions for learning for all our pupils. A school ethos based on values such as respect, love, trust, justice and integrity is central to our approach to Pupil Support. We believe that learning is a collective as well as an individual responsibility and that all members of our school community are responsible for their own achievements and contribute to the achievement of others. It is therefore essential to have Pupil Support structures which exemplify and embody our philosophy of valuing all pupils as individuals and as members of the community of Dunblane High School. Structures based on the best interests of the pupils have been put in place to translate this philosophy into action. The integrated provision of pastoral care and learning support within our Pupil Support structures has resulted in a holistic approach to providing support for individual pupils. It is also proving to be effective in addressing class, year group and whole school issues. Peer group issues which can adversely affect the progress of pupils are addressed by teams of Pupil Support Teachers within a horizontal system. With a strong emphasis on pro-active methods which anticipate the support our pupils will require, the approaches adopted by our Pupil Support Faculty acknowledge the fact that all young people need support some time, if not all of the time, during their school career.

2.1 Anxiety Management

To address any issues of emotional distress and anxiety within our young people, all members of the Pupil Support Team were trained in the FRIENDS for Life Programme which was created to assist young people to build resilience and self-esteem and to learn skills and techniques to cope with feelings of fear, worry and depression. The symbolism drawn from the word FRIENDS is based on the following principles:The word FRIENDS helps children to remember each of the skills taught throughout the programme (i.e. each letter stands for a new skill learned).

• our body is our FRIEND and tells us when we are feeling worried or nervous by giving us clues;

• it is important to learn to be our own FRIEND and reward ourselves when we try hard;

• it is important to make FRIENDS, so that we can build our social support network and feel happier;

• FRIENDS can help us cope with difficult situations more effectively.

The Pupil Support Team successfully ran a ‘FRIENDS for Life Programme’ for pupils in each year group during the 2014/15 session.

Our Pupil Support Team continued to work with partners to provide positive destinations for our young people. Some examples of the work carried out is as follows:

• Activity Agreements – Youth Services Activity Agreements are for those young people who may not, without additional support, make a successful transition to work, further education or training.

• Alternative Curriculum in Education (ACE) Programme The access course is designed for vulnerable young people who have not achieved at school or feel that they have outgrown the school environment and will be able to work in the adult environment of college on such things as Enterprise and Personal and Social Development as well as practical subjects in a variety of areas.

• Forth Valley College School-College Link Programme This programme which gives pupils the opportunity to study subjects at college while still at school. Pupils studied a variety of courses from Early Education, Hospitality, Construction and Creative Industries to Sound Production and Higher Psychology.

4 Dunblane High School

• Extended and Flexible Work Experience Placements Principal Teachers Pupil Support (PTPS) work closely with young people and their families to arrange these placements which contribute to fulltime employment opportunities post 16.

• Education for Life and Work (EfLW) ~ Dunblane Business Partnership Following the publication of the Wood Commission Report on Developing Scotland’s Workforce, the school has been working closely with local businesses, Discover Dunblane BID team, Stirling Council and BIDs Scotland to develop opportunities for Education for Life and Work. Dunblane High School is now a full partner in the Dunblane BID and Mr Noakes DHT is a member of its board. We now have partnerships with local businesses including Robertsons Homes and organise curricular inputs from employers and work placements.

2.2 S6 Mentor Scheme

The S6 Mentor scheme is well established now and continues to ensure that every S6 student (not just those applying through UCAS) is allocated a mentor to help and support them into Further or Higher Education or Employment. S6 meet with their mentors on a regular basis for guidance and support.

2.3 S6 Primary Secondary Transition

Significant developments were made in our Primary Secondary Transition Programme during 2014-15. Each Primary 7 pupil participated in a block of lessons in Music and Home Economics at Dunblane High School which began in October 2014. This was built on the 2013-14 programme which itself followed feedback from P7 pupils indicating that they would like to visit the High School earlier in their P7 year. In September the annual trip to Dalguise for our P7 Pupils has been reduced to 3 days, allowing 2 days to be spent in Dunblane HS where a full series of Health, Fitness and Social Programmes, delivered by various organisations including Active Stirling, NHS, Police and DHS School Staff were enjoyed. We have also added into the school calendar, a drop in session for parents of pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN), to further enhance the transition process for pupils with ASN.


3. ATTAINMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT

3.1. OverallAttainment:SQAExaminationsWith the first sitting of the new CfE Higher Grade exams, the SQA Examinations of 2015 marked an important milestone in Scottish Education. In Dunblane High we also had the largest presentation for Advanced Highers in the school’s history. In fact the S6 who left Dunblane High in June 2015 were the highest achieving year group to have gone through the school since records began. In every measure of the 2015 examination performance our S6 achieved the highest success rates we have ever had. Boys once again showed some improvement by narrowing the gender gap in the National exams at the end of S4 and marginally out-performing girls in the Advanced Higher Grade exams. Unfortunately, in spite of its absence in 2014, the gender gap made a reappearance in our 2015 HG results. After a period of sustained improvement between 2010 and 2014, we might have expected 2014-15 to have been a session more challenging than most to show examination improvements. However as the remainder of this section will illustrate, this was not the case.

The percentage of S4 who gain 5 or more SQA awards at SCQF Level 5 – now National 5, is a key measure. The percentage who then go on to gain 3+ and 5+ Higher passes are also key measures. In the first of these measures, as the table below shows, we have gone from averaging 64% in the five year period 2006-2010 (and 58% in 2010) to averaging over 70% in the last five years. In the Higher Grade key measure we have gone from averaging 27% in the five year period 2006-2010. to averaging 40% in the last five years. In addition, over the same period, the percentage of our young people gaining 3+ HGs has gone above 70% for the first time and the percentage gaining at least 1 HG has gone above 80.

Measure 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

By end S4 % 5+ at Level 5 66 56 75 67 58 62 73 78 68 71

Averages 64 70

By end S5 % 5+ at Level 5 23 25 31 29 29 31 39 45 45 35

Averages 27 40

It is pleasing to report that our examination performance in 2015 set new records for the school in some of the key traditional measures. This is the fifth year in succession that in at least one such measure, a new record for the school has been set.

In the S4 measures:

• the % of young people gaining 5 or more awards at SCQF level 3 was – at 99% - the highest on record;

• the % of young people gaining 5 or more awards at SCQF level 4 was – at 98% - the highest on record;

• the % of young people gaining 5 or more awards at SCQF level 5 was – at 71% - the 3rd highest on record.In the S5 measures:

• the % of young people gaining 1 or more awards at SCQF level 6 – at 82% - equalled the highest on record;

• the % of young people gaining 3 or more awards at SCQF level 6 was – at 61% - the 3rd highest on record;

• the % of young people gaining 5 or more awards at SCQF level 6 was – at 35% - the 4th highest on recordMoreover, in the above measures all the performances which bettered those in 2015 have come in the last 5 years. Thus the SQA results in 2015 were, in several areas, the best on record and the contribution of boys was significant. Moreover they were achieved against a background of significant curricular change, at the end of which, saw the introduction of the new CfE Higher Examinations for S5.


In the S6 measures:

The % of young people gaining 1 or more awards at SCQF level 7 was – at 43% - the highest on record, with an impressive 36% of all subject presentations at Advanced Higher gaining ‘A’ awards. Unsurprisingly last year’s S6 saw record numbers of our young people gain entry to a wide range of institutions of Higher and Further Education including Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard.

A new and welcome development when it comes to measuring schools’ performance has been the publication by the Scottish Government of ‘Attainment for All’ data based on Average Total Tariff Points. This compares how schools perform based on the socio-economic characteristics of individual pupils. Based on these characteristics, each school in Scotland is presented with a ‘Virtual Comparator’ for each cohort sitting SQA exams. The graphs below show how: the most disadvantaged 20%; the middle 60% and the most advantaged 20% of young people in S4 and S5 across the country compare with pupils in Dunblane High who share similar socio-economic characteristics.

S4 2015: SQA Average Total Tariff Scores

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390

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Average Total Tariff Score

Lowest 20% Highest 20%

Dunblane High SchoolVirtural ComparatorStirlingNational

Middle 60% Attainment cohorts

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S5 2015: SQA Average Total Tariff Scores

780

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390

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Average Total Tariff Score

Lowest 20% Highest 20%Middle 60% Attainment cohorts

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Dunblane High SchoolVirtural ComparatorStirlingNational

It is pleasing to report that for the second year in succession Dunblane High students have outperformed their Virtual Comparators in every one of the above measures.

3.2.SportingAchievements

3.2.1 Sports Day 2015

Our continued promotion of health and wellbeing for all saw children across year groups competing in heats throughout the week, culminating in our hugely successful whole school Sports Day on a glorious summer morning this year. A summary of our overall Sports Champions is provided below:

Level Champion Second Third

S1 Boys Fraser Sheriff Oliver Stewart Connor McLugash

S1 Girls Seren Adams Ellee Mills Jenni Totten

S2 Boys Cameron Murray Declan McLugash Kyle Middleton

S2 Girls Harriet Duffus Peigi Urquhart Ellen Curry

S3 Boys Rory Price Glen Cartner Andrew Stuart

S3 Girls Katie Jackson Izzy Whyte Fiona Davies

Senior Boys Jamie Paterson Ben Campbell-Roddis Jack Houghton

Senior Girls Lucy Mason Morgan Nisbet Niamh Proctor


3.2.2 Football 2014 – 15

Session 2015-16 was, once again, a very successful session for our school’s footballers. 45 pupils from S1-S3 attended a weekend ‘Premiership Experience’ trip to Greater Manchester on the 16th and 17th May 2015. The pupils watched two BPL football games, Burnley vs Stoke at Turf Moor and Manchester United vs Arsenal at Old Trafford. They enjoyed a fantastic atmosphere at both matches and were invited onto the pitch to hold a banner at Turf Moor, as well as visiting the Etihad Stadium for a behind-the-scenes tour.

The S2 football team built on the success of S1 through their continued commitment and representation of the school by participating in both

the Forth Valley League and Cup competitions. The boys’ enthusiasm for representing the school never declined despite some challenging matches. The S1 football team competed in the Forth Valley League and Cup competitions as well as the National Cashback 7’s competition.

The Senior School Football Team won the Senior School League for the first time in the school’s history. They also won the League Cup. Last year’s Senior Team (coached by Mr Ritchie) is the most successful football team Dunblane High has ever had.

Conor McKenzie (S6) was named (for the second successive year) in the U18 Scotland Squad for the internationals against Australia, Wales, Northern Ireland, England and the Republic of Ireland. James Dougan (S3) was selected for the Forth Valley U15 football team.

Girls’ football continues to flourish in DHS. Last year the girls enjoyed another year competing in the Forth Valley League. They conducted themselves positively and were a credit to the school throughout the tournament. They made it to the Semi-Final of the Cashback 7s Tournament, showing great teamwork, determination and motivation. Pictured: Back Row left to right: Fiona Davies, Rosie Holmes, Maddie O’Brien, Hannah Fenn-Tye, Taylor Downs, and Iona Frame. Front Row left to right: Orla Fitzpatrick, Lynn Picken, Maija Nicol, Emily Khan, Courtney Fleming.

3.2.3 Fencing 2014-15

Louis Bryson (S4) was one of only 3 young people in Stirling to receive a Civic Award last session. The award was made after Louis was nominated for his achievements in fencing notably his selection for the Scottish Fencing Team at youth level, his achievements in national competitions and his dedication to the sport as evidenced by his coaching and supporting younger fencers. Dunblane High teams, guided by their coach Mrs McArdle (parent), had a highly successful 2015 Scottish Secondary Schools Teams’ Fencing Championship. The results were as follows:Senior Boys’ Team - Louis Bryson, Rory McNicol, Leo McArdle and Neil Brown: Foil ~ 2nd; Epee ~ 3rdJunior Boys’ Team - Eoin Cunningham, Isaac McKerr, Adam Bryson and Fraser O’Brien: Foil ~ 1st; Epee ~ 1stSenior Girls’ Team - Naimh Proctor, Holly Jarvis, and Louise Hynd: Foil ~ 3rd; Epee ~ 5thSpecial congratulations to Adam Bryson who also won the Style Award Boys’ Epee

Girls Football Team


3.2.4 Athletics

Many of our pupils competed in the Scottish Schools’ Track & Field Championships. They achieved great success at these championships as the following results indicate:Sarah Pearson Gold ~ 400m HurdlesEmily Batchelor Gold ~ Triple Jump; Bronze ~ Long JumpJack Houghton 4th ~ 400m HurdlesFiona Davies 6th ~ Pole Vault; 11th ~ 1500mJamie Paterson 6th ~ 400m Jessica Cleland 6th ~ 100m Semi-finalKatie Jackson 7th ~ 80m Hurdles; 5th ~ 300m

Dunblane High had a highly successful Stirling Schools’ Cross Country Championship last session. We won two team events and were runners-up in two others. This was on top of some notable individual success from Cerys Gilbride (S1) – third in the S1/2 individual girls’ event and George Stanger (S3) – third in the S3/4 individual boys’ event.

3.2.5 Squash

James Dougan (S3) was selected to play squash for Scotland in the Irish Open in Dublin.

Emma Fitzsimmons (S4) was selected to play squash for Scotland in the following tournaments – the Irish Open in Dublin, the 5 Nations, the European Team Championship in Prague, the Dutch Junior Open in Amsterdam and the U19 International Youth tests in Cardiff.

3.2.6 Swimming 2014-15

15 Swimmers from S1 to S6 made up the Dunblane High School Team which competed in the Central Schools’ Swimming Championships at Grangemouth. Between them they came away with a medal tally of 9 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze as well as a considerable number of personal best times. Special mention to our Relay A Team who swam impressively against very stiff competition to finish in 1st place. Team Dunblane HS came an impressive 3rd place overall in the combined Team Scores. The team comprised: Seren Adams, Katie Chaplin, Kailey Davidson, Harriet Duffus, Alice Greenan, Olly Carr, Shawn Cooper, Sam Leckie, Malcolm Jack, Kayleigh Fraser, Jodie Murray, Cara Smith, Rosie Stanger, David Hughes and Jamie Murray.

Three of our seniors represented DHS at the Scottish Swimming Championships in Aberdeen with the following successes:17-19 age group100m Backstroke ~ Cara Smith (S6) 5th place

100m Butterfly ~ David Hughes (S5) 6th place

200m Butterfly ~ David Hughes (S5) 4th place

100m Backstroke ~ Jamie Murray (S5) 7th place

200m Backstroke ~ Jamie Murray (S5) 7th place

3.2.7 Orienteering

Clare Stansfield (S4) was selected for the Scottish Schools’ team for the World Schools Orienteering Championship in Turkey in April 2015.

3.2.8 Judo

Cammie Reid-Thomas (S2) won a Bronze medal in the Under 50 kg (Under 15s) at the Scottish National Judo Championships at Ravenscraig in November 2014.


3.2.9 Skiing

The school competed against 25 other schools from across Scotland in the SSSA indoor SBX championships at Braehead last November. We were represented by Sophie Paterson (S2), Jamie Paterson, Logan Dow and Ruaridh Withington (all S5) and Alison Todd (S6). Alison was 7th out of 38, Sophie was 32nd, Jamie was 37th out of 74 and Logan and Ruaridh 47th and 48th respectively.

3.2.10 Rowing

Freya Duncan (S4) won 1st place in the 2014-15 Scottish Junior 15 Indoor Rowing Championships.

3.2.11 Badminton

13 pupils from S1 and S2 competed in the Stirling Schools Badminton Championships and 10 came back with medals. DHS also had finalists in all 5 events.Boys Singles: Gold - Fraser Sheriff; Bronze - Kyle Middleton. Girls Singles: Gold - Amy Campbell; Bronze - Hannah Richards. Boys Doubles: Gold - Fraser Sheriff & James Forest; Bronze - Kyle Middleton & Mark Thomson/Jonathan Chaplin & Brodie Smith. Girls Doubles: Silver - Hannah Richards & Sophie Paterson; Bronze Amy Campbell & Nina Wills. Mixed Doubles: Gold - James Forrest & Hannah Richards; Bronze - Kyle Middleton & Sophie Paterson. Our S3-6 Badminton players followed up the success of our S1/2 with impressive performances. U16 Girls Singles: Emma Fitzsimmons (Gold). U16 Girls Doubles: Mareth Burns & Madeline O’Brien (3rd). U16 Boys Singles: Sammy McKinney (Gold); Rowan Exton (Silver); David Nairn (3rd =). U16 Boys Doubles: Sammy McKinney & David Nairn (Gold); Craig Jackman & Rowan Exton (3rd=). U19 Boys Singles: Jamie Paterson (Silver). U19 Girls Doubles: Jess Duncan & Morgan Nisbet (4th). U19 Boys Doubles: Jamie Paterson & Sean Huggett (Silver).

Junior and Senior pupils competed in the Central Scotland Badminton Competition in December with great successes as follows.

Fraser Sheriff and James Forrest who won the boys’ doubles - junior team (S1);Fraser Sheriff and Amy Campbell who won the mixed doubles - junior team (S1);Fraser Sheriff won silver in boys’ singles and Amy Campbell won silver in girls’ singles.


3.3 CurricularDevelopments2014-15

3.3.1. Education for Life and Work Developments 2014-15

Preparations were completed for the introduction to the curriculum of our programme of activities focusing on Education for Life and Work (EfLW). Important links were established with ‘Discover Dunblane’ & the BID (Business Improvement District) team led by Mr Tom Casey (one of our parents) and Mr Noakes (Depute Head Teacher) who duly accepted an invitation to join their Board. This partnership means our young people will be able to participate fully in shaping their local environment. Allied to this the EfLW team – represented by Miss S. Porter (Technologies) and Rachel Kelly S6 worked with the ‘Dunblane Charrette’ project along with some S3 and S6 students to look at mapping their experience of living in Dunblane and making suggestions for improvements. A survey to identify the skills that we as community value as part of students’ education, was carried out towards the end of the session and we had over 200 responses from all stakeholders in our community. The results of this survey, together with other input from parents, teachers, students and employers helped shape our programme. We were very lucky to have Tom Casey (Discover Dunblane), Rachael Govan (Stirling Council), Sarah MacFadyen (Robertson Homes) and Stuart Riddle (The Riverside) give talks to our new S6 at their June conference. We continue to develop strong links with the employer community of Dunblane & Stirling to make further significant contributions to the development of our curriculum. A dedicated ‘Twitter’ feed, @DHSOpps, was also set up and plans were drawn up for a ‘Career Building Club’ where students will be able to explore how to ‘build a career’.

3.3.2. The 33 period Week from April 2015

After a period of consultation that began in October 2014, the new 33 period week was introduced in April. A number of enhancements to the S5 and S6 curriculum in particular, were made possible by its introduction. As with the current curriculum, 6 periods were to be allocated to each column for academic courses in S5 and S6 and although the average length of each period was reduced to 48-50 minutes (as compared with the previous average of 53 minutes), ample time was still provided to complete the 160 hours required by each SQA course. The additional 3 periods available provided an opportunity to include 1 dedicated period per week to be devoted to separate S5 and S6 year group assemblies. This meant that EfLW issues mentioned above —including UCAS support—could be covered without taking time from subject columns. Another period was allocated to core PE in S5 and S6 and the third to the delivery of other aspects of EfLW including such topics as ‘Lifeskill Cooking’, interview and presentations skills and business and enterprise education. We believe that this will be a significant enhancement to the educational experience of our senior students many of whom (especially S5) may feel the pressure of the relentlessly academic nature of the curriculum.

3.3.3 Curricular Achievements 2014-15

a. SciencesPhysics

Jurriaan Gouw (S5) was successful in his application to the Scottish Space School 2015. The Scottish Space School programme comprises a week long residential summer school with an eclectic mix of lectures, labs and workshops all on a space theme, delivered by leading academics and researchers, and supported by NASA astronauts and engineers. The top 10 students will be selected for a 7-day Learning Journey to Johnson Space Centre in Houston.

Chemistry

Dunblane High School entered a team of four pupils in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s 2014 ‘Top of the Bench’ competition. The competition was held in Forth Valley College and involved the team carrying out four reactions against the clock. Marks were awarded for practical skills, teamwork and the accuracy of their written report. The team managed to gain 2nd place. This success was testament to the hard work, ingenuity and teamwork of Alex Frye, Katie Jackson, Lewis Swan and Sophie Paterson.


b. MathematicsOne of last session’s S5 students, Iain Davies and his family attended an award ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians, in Edinburgh to recognise Iain’s achievement in scoring 100% in the 2014 SQA Advanced Higher Maths exam. He was the only candidate in the country to achieve this unique distinction a fact that was all the more remarkable since he was only in S4 when he took this S6 examination. The awards were made under the auspices of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

As usual Dunblane High had another successful year in the UK Maths Challenges. This is a competition for mathematically skilled senior pupils throughout the U.K. The top 60% of all entrants nationwide receive a gold, silver or bronze and the very highest scorers are invited to take part in follow up rounds. Dunblane High achieved 5 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze certificates. Outstanding performances by Daniel Polatajko and Alex Swift (S6) qualified them for the British Mathematical Olympiad whilst Matthew Peters, Daniel Stansfield and Iain Davies qualified for the Senior ‘Kangaroo’. A special mention to Jamie Welsh (S3) who won a silver certificate - a superb achievement for a pupil in S3 considering all the other participants were in S5 or S6. In addition Dunblane High’s Senior Maths Challenge Team made up of Matthew Peters, Daniel Polatajko, Iain Davies and Jessica Li won one of the three Scottish Regional Finals and progressed to the UK Final in London in February 2015 where they won first prize in the ‘Poster Round’ competition. Reaching the final was an achievement in itself but winning one of the prizes was immense! Their winning theme was the mathematics of the solar system about which one of the three judges commented: “The maths of the DHS team was perfect”. Maths trialled an excursion to the Museum on the Mound last year for first year classes during Money Week. The students took part in three organised tasks learning about the history of money and how modern notes and coins came about. Feedback indicated that the pupils enjoyed the trip and found it informative so as a result we are taking all 1st year pupils this year and from now on during Money Week each November.

c. MusicSchool Show June 2015 ~ West Side Story Our Music department prepare for and perform at milestones in the school calendar such as the annual Awards’ Ceremony in Dunblane Cathedral, Christmas and Spring Concerts. In addition over 120 pupils participated in the 2014-15 school show ‘West Side Story’ which played to packed houses in June. The standards achieved were truly outstanding and spoke eloquently of the levels of expertise, commitment and effort of our young people their parents and families and of our staff production team led by Mrs Gunning and Mr Cooper. The Christmas 2014 school concert was especially memorable for the staging and repertoire – a challenging set of traditional classical pieces for choir and orchestra followed by an equally challenging modern set of Christmas pieces.

d. SocialSubjectsAnnual Battlefields Tour

Our annual trip to the First World War Battlefields was another huge success. 59 pupils and 6 staff returned tired but safe after another unforgettable educational experience. This tour is always a wonderful and emotional experience for all involved but we must pay tribute to the exemplary conduct of our young people throughout the trip. This was commented on by several observers but specifically by staff on the cross-channel ferry.

e. Arts,HealthandWellbeingArt

2014 marked the 40th anniversary of Dunblane High School and also the construction of a new footbridge over the railway at Dunblane Station. With both of these in mind, Balfour Beatty approached our Art department and asked them to create two display boards to enhance their building project at the station, celebrating the schools forty years. After some consultation different views of Dunblane were chosen as the theme and the pupils and staff got creating. Many pupils from 2nd to 6th year and teachers from Graphic Communications and English, got involved. The project resulted in two boards showcasing paintings of Dunblane including the Old Railway footbridge, before it was removed. Pupils involved were Rachel Kelly (S6) Holly Cunningham (S6) Jodie Howland (S6) Mareth Burns (S3) James Dougan (S3) Kirsty Glen (S3) Holly Jarvis (S3) Erin Watson (S3) Faye Pullan (S2). The work now has a permanent home in the school’s McCarron Room.


Home Economics

Anna McFarland S4 was runner-up in the district round of the Rotary Young Chef Competition. Our Hospitality pupils from S4 and S6 accompanied by Mrs Domin (PT) and Mrs Sweeney (Maths), attended a ‘Hospitality Event’ at Gleneagles to experience some of the forty types of jobs on offer in the Hospitality industry. They were given a tour of the complex by Gleneagles staff which gave them an insight to the intricacies of the smooth running of such a complex operation. Stephanie Verrall (last year’s S6) obtained an apprenticeship with the prestigious Chez Roux group. Stephanie will be based at Cromlix House Hotel, where she will be mentored and will have the opportunity to work all over the world in Chez Roux establishments.

f. TechnologiesOnce again we had success in the Arkwright Scholarship in 2014-2015 with two of our hard working S4 students, Alasdair Russell and Andy Smith (see picture below), being awarded prestigious scholarships. These scholarships are open to Engineering Science students from across the country.

Computing Science

Senior pupils attended the Computing Science Christmas Lecture at Strathclyde University. For decades people have envisaged a future where we will be able to talk to machines. The lecture explained why this is such a challenging area of artificial intelligence. Pupils were introduced to Watson, IBM’s latest attempt to address this problem. They had an introduction to the workings of Watson, and were shown some of the things that Watson had been doing, from entering TV quiz shows to training with doctors.

Engineering Science

Caitlin Fotheringham and Sophie Namey S6 were shortlisted as finalists in Talent 2030’s National Engineering Competition for girls. They were selected as one of the final 15 teams from across the UK to attend The Big Bang Young Scientists and Engineering Fair in Birmingham in March to showcase their project. The competition asked young people to propose a solution to one of the challenges of 21st century engineering. The girls chose to tackle the energy crisis and proposed a system of offshore wind turbines that store excess energy as hydrogen in non-peak hours. They presented their ideas at the NEC, Birmingham.

Graphic Communication

In 2014-15 a regular Thursday lunchtime club for S1-3 met in the Graphics’ classroom to try out different approaches to modelling. Creating solutions to design problems or simply being creative, pupils used construction kits and computer modelling techniques to great effect. The eventual aim is to use our models to create animations.

g. EnglishTheatre Trips

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: English and History ran two trips to see plays set during WW1 – “The Bunker Trilogy” and “Private Peaceful”. S4 pupils were taken to “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time”, S1 to see ‘Wicked’ and Higher/N5/4 Media students to Scotland’s Into Film Festival.

Interdisciplinary Learning (IDL)

S1 pupils were involved in a variety of IDL projects. Three classes performed a potted version of “Oh What a Lovely War”. The English and Music departments worked together to provide pupils with an opportunity to stage scenes from the play and gain experiences on and off stage. Each class performed to their year group at a year group assembly. English and Music also worked together to enable S1 pupils to create trailers for their production of ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’.


h. ModernLanguages

There has been a longstanding tradition in our Modern Languages Department, of running ‘French Café’ mornings as part of the Modern Languages’ S3 BGE course. ‘French Cafés’ are run for staff and senior pupils (see photograph). The pupils worked hard and took full responsibility of the project. Working in teams pupils named their café, designed the menus and the invitations in the target language. They then set up their cafes, greeted their ‘customers’ in the appropriate language and then took orders for a French breakfast. Once again, the event was a huge success and provided a realistic context for our young people to demonstrate their linguistic skills and abilities.

3.4 WiderAchievements

3.4.1 Scottish Youth Parliament

Congratulations to Brian Iroegbu of S3 who was elected as one of 2 representatives from Stirling Schools to serve in the Scottish Youth Parliament 2015. This is the second successive year that one of our pupils has been elected to the Youth Parliament.

3.4.2 British Exploring Society

Hazel MacFarlane (S5) was selected to take part in a 5 week BES (British Exploring Society) Expedition to the Peruvian Amazon jungle in July 2015. She took part in trekking and working in partnership with the international NGO Crees Foundation, which is actively involved in developing the scientific study and understanding of this unique area. Hazel also had the opportunity to get involved with local people and help out on a number of sustainability programmes.

3.4.3 Rotary Club Youth Leadership Award

Fiona Dick (S4) won a Rotary Club Youth Leadership Award (RCYLA). This will involve a week at the Abernethy Trust’s Outdoor and Adventure Centre overlooking Loch Tay. Young people ages 14–30 are sponsored by Rotary Clubs to attend the event run by the club’s district committee. Participants are chosen for their leadership potential so it was a great achievement for Fiona to have been selected.

3.4.4 Debating

The debating club was very active last year. Juniors and Seniors participated in a number of national competitions: The E.S.U Junior Debate Competition, Public Speaking Competition and Mace. The Dunblane Team was particularly successful in the Donald Dewar Law Society National Competition where they reached the semi –final. Aspiring lawyers took part in the Bar National Mock Trial Competition at Glasgow’s High Court. A team of 16 took on the roles of Advocates, Witnesses and Jurors and competed against 20 schools across Scotland for a place in the Final.

3.4.5 Film Club

This was very successful last year providing S2-S6 pupils with a unique experience regarding the appreciation of cinema and film production.

‘French Café’ mornings


3.4.6 Kids’ Lit Quiz & BloggingTwo DHS teams from S1&2 took part in the regional heats of the Kids’ Lit Quiz which was held at Kilsyth Academy. Budding journalists continue to forge links with the local press with the weekly school blog which provides an insight in to school life at Dunblane High School.

3.4.7 MAD (Make a Difference) GroupsIn 2014-15 we once again ran two MAD (Make a Difference) Groups who worked to raise awareness of several charities in school notably the ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ Charity. As a result of their work last session our annual walk to the Cathedral at the end of the Christmas term has been designated as a ‘Stand up to Cancer’ walk. Initiated by Emily Batchelor (exS6), our Stand Up to Cancer final total for the year was a magnificent £2,233. We received an enormous ‘thank you’ from Dorothy Rodger Local Fundraising Manager for Cancer Research UK who wrote: “The group worked hard with some innovative fundraising involving street collections, merchandise from our Trading team, and fundraising materials. They are a credit to the school.” The hope is that every year this event will be a Christmas fundraiser involving the whole school.

3.4.8 Other Charity WorkThe Anthony Nolan Trust is a pioneering charity that saves the lives of people with blood cancer. Following their input at our June 2015 Tri-School S6 Conference, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) attended DHS to encourage potential bone marrow donors aged 18-30 to register: basically that meant our new S6 and a (small!) number of staff. The organisation was done entirely by the Anthony Nolan Trust ‘Champions’ in our new S6 - Rebecca Raw, Sean Huggett, Lara Ross, Erin Kennedy, Euan Lambert, James Gibson, Emma Devonshire, Hannah Brown, Lauren Rankin, Elle McCann, Louise Perry, Karla Grant, Nicola McDonald and Karys Rutherford. “Becoming a Champion for the Anthony Nolan group has been an extremely rewarding experience; helping to add more and more people to the potential donors list to help those in need is greatly fulfilling.” - James Gibson, S6; “Amazing experience and beneficial for people in need.” - Nicola McDonald S6. “Great to be a part of something so rewarding and beneficial.”- Lauren Rankin, S6. There was a fantastic response from staff and S6 with 58 registering with the Anthony Nolan Trust. Paul Elliot of the Trust said “That was a fantastic turn out for the SFRS and Anthony Nolan Clinic. The young people from S6 were brilliant. Also the Champions were exceptional. Congratulations on having such fine students.”

2014 was a record year for our annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal with the magnificent total of 111 boxes being submitted to the charity Samaritan’s Purse last December.

3.4.9 Euroscola 2015For the second time in 3 years a student from Dunblane High was awarded the EUROSCOLA scholarship. Anna Steen last year’s Head Girl won the award which included a 5 day trip to the European parliament in Strasbourg. The highlight of this trip was when she teamed up with the other ‘Euroscolas’ from all over Europe to debate several topical subjects in the debating chamber of the European Parliament. Well done to Anna for representing Dunblane High so magnificently.

3.4.10 Dunblane High School TartanRachel Kelly S6 (see pictured on front cover) an Advanced Higher Art & Design student worked alongside our S5 Pupil Council in the production of a Dunblane High School tartan to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the school. Working from Rachel’s initial portfolio designs the team developed various optional designs. They met regularly with Logoxpres who liaised with our tartan manufacturer to produce our final tartan. Ties are now under production that will be worn at various events by our school performers (choir, orchestra etc) as well as a ‘drop front’ for the table at our Annual Award Ceremony. We are also in the process of getting the tartan registered via the Scottish Register of tartans.


4. SCHOOL EXCURSIONS 2014-15

As ever, our staff arranged a series of enriching wider educational experiences for pupils throughout the year. During 2014-15 over 200 pupils went on residential trips including trips abroad. Here are some of the excursions:

Excursion Destination Date Purpose Length Pupils Staff

Paris & Bruges December 14 Christmas Markets 5 days 44 5

Belgium April-14 Battlefields 5 days 60 6

Madrid May-14 Spanish & Art 5 days 45 5

Lake Garda June-14 English 7 days 60 6

Tuscany June-14 Music Tour 5 days 74 6

Modern Languages Trip 2014-15

56 pupils took part in the Modern Languages trip to Paris and Belgium, in December 2014. Our young people had the opportunity to enhance their language skills through a range of educational and cultural visits. Our range of Modern Languages excursions (French Film Festival, Paris, Bruges, French Christmas Markets), which are very popular, is enhanced by our senior pupils being able to visit their ‘pen pals’ from our twinned town in Annoeuillin and spend a day in a French school. This direct connection with pupils from Collège Albert Hall offers a learning experience that inspires our students to explore beyond our borders in a way that is unmatched by any textbook, map, or computer.

Paris 2014


5. EVALUATION OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2014/15

Whole School Improvement Priority 2014/15

Progress by June 2015

To continue the development in S5 & 6 of the Senior Phase curriculum to suit the needs of all learners.

2014-15 timetable constructed to enable full implementation of new HG course plans. New S4-6 Timetable Schematic to took account of PT advice on new courses and teaching requirements and efficient use of available accommodation and resources.

Inter School Partnership Partnership discussions with Bannockburn HS and Wallace HS agreed the possibilities eg of structured partnership approaches to school improvement based on joint analysis of schools’ data and possible joint staff development and other possible ways of working together. The three HTs visited London Challenge schools to examine partnership working that led to raised attainment.

To improve pupil experience, attainment and achievement by developing the professional culture of the school.

Following the evaluation of the Teacher Learner Communities and the work of staff in the Perceptions About Learning (PAL) Group, School Aims & Higher Order Thinking Skills Groups in 2013-14, staff continued to work collegiately on pedagogy and professional culture. Planned and meaningful peer-peer classroom visits and interdisciplinary learning activities were initiated in each faculty.

All staff were registered with My GTCS. Professional Review and Development meetings reflected the appropriate GTCS ‘Professional Standards’.

HWB group continued to promote HWB among all members of the community by running junior HWB day; promotion of Sports Day; promotion of healthy eating and lifestyles through HE and PSHE programmes; promotion of rich, active experiences as part of the totality of all that is planned and inclusion for all pupils.

To continue to develop the rationale & procedures for tracking and monitoring all aspects of pupils’ experience and progress from BGE to the Senior Phase.

Historical as well as current data for each year group, was used to compile data sets on Excel spreadsheets accessible by all staff. This included SIMD, ‘English’ and ‘Maths’ based information from results from CEM, SSLN and Effort grades from Interim & BGE Reports

New national data analysis techniques used to focus and support the targeting of pupils for improvement. Improved data to continued to be shared with all staff.

Staff awareness of pupils in danger of underachieving raised.


Stirling Council Education Services Viewforth Stirling FK8 2ET.

email: [email protected] text: 0771 799 0001 phone: 0845 277 7000 web: www.dunblanehighschool.org.uk

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