End of TermApril 2015

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Junior and Senior School pupils have again participated enthusiastically in a range of different activities this term, and you can read of their achievements and vari-ous highlights in this newsletter.

Following the appointment in December of current Deputy Rector, Mr Kenneth Robertson to become Senior Deputy Rector next session, the Board of Governors in March named Mr Graeme Robertson, currently Head of the Guidance Faculty at St Columba’s School, Kilmacolm as Deputy Rector from August 2015.

Mrs Karen Waugh and I were again pleased that the High School was the school of choice for many families after our Entrance Tests in January.

As ever, there has been fundraising for several charities, with Bannerman and Moore Houses supporting Miti Mingi Primary School, Kenya and the Beatson Cancer Centre respectively. Other beneficiaries at both Schools have included Comic Relief, the Little Princess Trust and UNICEF.

There has been success in the Trades House of Glasgow Robert Burns Festival and the UK Rotary Public Speaking Competition as well as in athletics, badminton, skiing, swimming and hockey, with the 1st XI reaching the Scottish Schools’ U18 final. Twelve pupils have been selected for the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland Junior Orchestra, and five for the National Youth Choir Boys’ or Girls’ Choirs, the Pipe Band and musicians won the Freestyle event at the Scottish Schools’ Pipe Band

Championships and Transitus to S2 pupils entertained with their performances of “The Wizard of Oz.”

On Friday 6 March, we were delighted to welcome a group of visiting Secondary School teachers from Iceland, who enjoyed meeting subject staff, observing classes and discussing the Scottish Education System.

In February, S6 Historians visited Berlin, and in early April, there is another History Department trip to the World War One Battlefields, the Hockey 1st XI and Rugby 1st XV will tour in Northern Italy and Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award participants will have their practice venture on the Isle of Skye.

I offer you and your family my best wishes for a very enjoyable and relaxing Spring holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Dear Parent,

Farewell Presentationto Colin mairThe School has arranged a Farewell Presentation to Colin Mair on Friday 12th June at the Senior School to which all parents, former parents, and former pupils are warmly invited.

The evening will be held in the Assembly Hall of the Senior School at 7.30 p.m. when tributes will be paid by representatives of the School community.

As we expect a large turn-out from the High School community, numbers will be restricted due to the capacity of the venue.

In order to assist with seating and catering arrangements, could all those wishing to attend please complete the on-line form that can be found here:

www.glasgowhigh.com/senior-school/colin-mair-farewell

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015Page 2

Junior SchoolAt the beginning of this term, with regret, Mrs Jennifer Mackay resigned from her post as Deputy Head at the Junior School in order to spend more time with her young family. She left with thanks for her hard work and her contribution to the school in her time with us and with our good wishes for the future.

Mrs Alison Gray, our former Deputy Head, returned from retirement in mid-January to assist with the run-ning of the school.

Mrs Elaine Muscatelli, classroom assistant at J4, took leave of absence from her post in February and we were pleased to welcome Miss Naomi Simpson to assist with this stage until her return.

Miss Maggie MacLean will return to school from her maternity leave on Monday 20th April and Mrs Vicki Stone will finish with J5M on Thursday 2nd April. We thank her for her very hard work this session.

We welcomed Mrs Marsali Duncan and Mrs Lesley Grier as new members of the Out of School Care team.

CLASS NEWS

Kindergarten children have had a busy term finding out about ‘People who help us’ and have received visits from Watch Commander Dhesi and his team from the local Fire Service with a fire engine to explore.

Mr Zhou visited to talk about Chinese New Year.

The children had a wonderful time at the Gallery of Modern Art looking at sculpture and this inspired the budding artists in Kindergarten in the creation of their own works of art for an Art Gallery Enterprise. A visit out of school to post invitations and shop for provi-sions helped them prepare for the event when their parents, grandparents and friends came to their Art Gallery Open Morning. Donations of £138.64 will go to the children’s chosen charity- the Dogs Trust.

Junior 1 visited Loch Lomond Aquarium to learn more about what’s ‘Under the Sea’. For the enterprise part of their Myself topic, the children planned marvel-lous entertainment and made cakes for a special Grandparents’ Afternoon Tea. The invited audiences were entertained with songs, poems and stories and the children took them on a tour to show off the work in classrooms. Congratulations to all involved for making the days so successful and for the generous donation of £606.85 to RNLI.

Junior 2 classes learned about island life through the characters in the Katie Morag stories by Mairi Hedderwick. They set up and worked in their Post Office.

In their study of Materials the classes visited Finlaystone Country Estate to explore how to make art from natural materials and a visit to The Burrell for workshops on Changing Materials also enhanced this topic. On a snowy March morning they took part in an exciting Cycle Rodeo, arranged by Mrs McConechy.

Junior 3 studied Polar Lands and had two visits from the Edinburgh Science Festival group, Generation Science, with fabulous workshops - The Wonderful World of Water and Marvellous Magnets. They did some baking and opened an Igloo Café where they enjoyed after-noon tea whilst singing songs. The classes developed their own ideas, inspired by fairy tales, to create plays in Drama class and performed them to delighted par-ents. Earlier in the term they learned about the planets and visited the Glasgow Science Centre Planetarium for Starhunters. The children also tried their hand at knitting with much appreciated helpers, and knitted squares were made into a blanket for charity.

Junior 4 classes studied Glasgow this term and toured the West End and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

where they explored the Glasgow Style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, looking at furniture design, paint-ings, drawings, jewellery and costume. They came back to Art class and created their own beautiful designs and jewellery. They then visited the Cathedral and the East End of the city, spotting landmarks and spend-ing time at Glasgow Green. They visited the Riverside Museum for a Clydebuilt exhibition and The People’s Palace to learn about Changing Glasgow. Artist Avril Paton visited the classes to talk about her work and her childhood memories of Arran and Glasgow. Together they looked at her famous painting, Windows in the West. A visit to Garnethill Synagogue, with expert guidance from a member of the Hebrew Centre, was enjoyed in their study of Judaism.

Junior 5 celebrated the 256th anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth with a study of the Bard and his work. They visited the Burns Heritage Park in Alloway, Hopscotch Theatre Company presented a Burns Last Supper workshop and the children planned and hosted their own Burns Supper with songs, poems, musical items, speeches, toasts and a Ceilidh.

Prior to their York visit, the classes visited St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in Bearsden. In York, they vis-ited the Minster, the Dungeons, walked on the walls and explored the ancient city beneath York at Jorvik. They saw evidence of the Early, Roman, Medieval and Viking past in a variety of visits and talks. They enjoyed a day as medieval peasants working for their feudal Lord and gained a great insight into life in the mid-dle ages.

To round off their medieval studies, the classes took part in a Knights and Castles workshop at The Burrell Museum.

Junior 6 visited Glasgow Science Centre Planetarium to study the Solar System and watched the 3D film, Space Station at the IMAX cinema. Visits were also made to the Greek Orthodox Church in Glasgow, the Coats Memorial Church in Paisley and to TCoNE at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

The classes enjoyed the gift of a session of Adventure Golf at Paradise Island, Braehead as they collected the largest sum of money whilst singing for Quarriers at Princes Square at Christmas.

The annual Daffodil Tea for elderly residents of the community was hosted by Junior 6 pupils and was a very successful afternoon. Junior 6 classes invited parents to a European Exhibition to display their work and dressed up to enjoy a European Lunch to end their European research project.

VISITORS

We welcome many visitors at the Junior School and thank each one for giving of their time and talents.

This term, Mr Colin Mair, Rev Graeme Wilson, Rev Roddy Hamilton, Mr Gordon McCracken, Mrs Jenny Cheung, Mrs Mia MacDonald and Ms Estelle McKean led some of our morning assemblies, bringing new ideas and stories.

Mr and Mrs Brian Adair have also attended Assembly and many other Junior School occasions and are always very supportive and practical in their help.

Other visitors to Assembly included Cheyanne Brown, music teacher at the Senior School, who played differ-ent styles of music on her harp for us. She brought small harps for interested pupils to try. Rosaleen Kelly gave a super talk about the work of Wateraid and thanked us for our donation to the charity from the Junior 2 Toy Fayre. Skye Woodford and Beth Hunt of the Junior 6 Mandarin Group told us about

the customs of Chinese New Year. The Senior School Fiddle Orchestra and the Fusion Group gave a wonder-ful lunchtime concert.

CHARITIES

We raised £361.60 buying red noses for Comic Relief and the sum of £688.48 for Unicef from our Dress-as-you-Please day and fantastic Global Citizenship Talent Show. Several very generous donations to charities were given from individual children in lieu of birthday gifts.

SPORT

The Junior School boys and girls were successful at both Triangular Swimming Galas held in January. Pupils from Juniors 5 and 6 had outstanding success at the Glasgow Primary Schools' Swimming Finals.

The R W Smith Memorial Trophy for 10 years Boys’ Relay was won by Fergus Currie, Liam McColl and Jamie Ritchie (all J5) and Milo Harris (J4).

The Dykes Trophy for 11 years Girls’ Relay was won by Kirsty Jones, Zara Kennedy, Anna Ivins and Anya MacLean (all J6).

Individual gold medallists were Anya MacLean (J6) for 11 years 25m freestyle and 11 years breaststroke, James Ballantyne (J6) for 11 years breaststroke, Zara Kennedy (J6) for 11 years backstroke and Fergus Currie (J6) for 10 years backstroke. Anya was also part of the Girls’ 12 and under 4x50m Freestyle Relay team which won at the Scottish Schools' Swimming Championships in Aberdeen.

The 10 years Girls’ Relay silver medallists were Sophie Kemsley, Anna MacCallum, Elizabeth Perrett (all J5) and Coryn MacLean (J4).

Individual silver medallists were Jamie Ritchie for 10

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015 Page 3

years freestyle and breaststroke and Toby Gleave (J5) for 10 years backstroke.

The 11 years Boys’ Relay bronze medallists were James Ballantyne, Jonny Meek, Danny Petrie and Callan Whitelaw (all J6).

Individual bronze medallists were Danny Petrie for 11 years breaststroke, Zara Kennedy for 11 years free-style, Coryn MacLean and Fergus Currie for 10 years freestyle and Eva James for 10 years backstroke. Congratulations to all the swimmers involved for these outstanding achievements.

The Annual Junior School Swimming Gala, organised by Mr Stewart Leggat, was held at the Allander Pool.

All children from Junior 4 – Junior 6 took part in the Ships’ Competition and the championship events were won by:

Junior 4: Coryn MacLean and Milo Harris, Junior 5: Eva James and Jamie Ritchie, Junior 6: Anya MacLean and James Ballantyne

Campbeltown won the Girls Relay and Longhope won the Boys Relay. The Overall Winning Ship trophy, combining all the individual points and champion-ship events, was won by Campbeltown. Mr Kenneth Robertson presented the prizes.

At the Junior School Ski Gala, all competitors skied with enthusiasm, great skill and style.

Boys’ individual results were 1st Harry Pover (J6), 2nd Nial Marshall (J5) and 3rd Jamie Ritchie (J6).

Girls’ individual results were Anya MacLean (J6), 2nd Sophie Bell (J6) and 3rd Amy Ashton (J5).

The team competition was won by Broughty Ferry and the Captain was Harry Pover.

Congratulations to all the runners in the Glasgow Schools' Cross Country competition, the Junior 6 girls’

team, Anya MacLean (Gold medal for 1st place), Zara Kennedy (6th), Annabel Davies, Lucy Sillars, Ellie Adair and Francesca Deane gained 1st place overall.

The Junior 5 girls’ team, Anna McCallum (4th), Polly Quaile (7th), Kirstie Souter (10th), Eilidh Hill, Elizabeth Hamilton and Emily Makridis and the Junior 5 boys’ team, Jamie Ritchie (6th), Toby Sim, Fergus Currie, Lucas Tosh, Ben Taylor and Alex Sivarajan were over-all second and the Junior 6 boys’ team, Sebastian Harten (6th place), James Ballantyne, Robert Hamilton, Taylor Sarafilovic, James Turnbull and Michael Kennedy achieved third place.

The Inter-ship Cross Country Championship was won this year by Broughty Ferry and Campbeltown.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Weekend activities have included regular rugby fixtures and a SUperClub visit to Lendrick Muir.

On World Book Day, representatives from each class gave book reviews of their favourite books at assem-bly. The Global Citizenship Committee held a Fair Trade assembly and during Fair Trade Fortnight ran a stall at lunchtimes selling bananas, juice, key rings, book marks and trinket boxes. They then held a Dress-as-you-Please day and Talent Show for Unicef Day for Change. The Eco Committee encouraged us to have a Zero Waste Day.

Junior Road Safety Officers have kept everyone up to date throughout the winter months with safety news and information.

On 20th March, everyone in school wore special glasses to experience the Solar Eclipse.

As always the Spring Concert was a wonderful success and showcased the incredible talents of the children in the Junior School.

CONGRATULATIONS

The Trades House of Glasgow Robert Burns Festival produced winners in every section. These included; Primary 4/5 Instrumental Section: 1st – Zixuan Yao (J5) playing violin and 2nd – Toby Sim (J5) playing gui-tar. In the Primary 4/5 Verse Speaking Section Fergus Currie (J5) gained second place. In the Primary 6/7 Instrumental Section: 1st – Annabel Davies (J6) playing violin, 2nd – Helena Downie (J6) playing violin.

In the Primary 6/7 Singing Section: 2nd- Annabel Davies (J6). Congratulations to all the performers.

The Scots Verse Competition was won this year by Polly Quaile (J5) who performed an outstanding recital of ‘The Rickety Bus’ by Matt Freeland. The competition was judged by Mr Jim McArthur, Past President of the Cumbernauld and District Burns Club and Mr David Boyle.

Archie MacFadyen was overall winner of the Under 18 Chanter Competition at the National Piping Centre.

There was success at the Garscube Harriers Cross Country Competition for the J6 team: Anya MacLean, Zara Kennedy and Annabel Davies gained 1st place and the J5 Boys: Ben Taylor, Fergus Currie and Kwesi O’Hare 2nd place. Well done to Anya who came first overall.

The Junior School recently held their annual Chess Championship. Congratulations to 1st - Ritvik Maheshwari (J5), 2nd - Danny Petrie (J6) and 3rd - Sahib Kohli (J5).

At the end of a very full and successful term, all at the Junior School wish parents, pupils and friends an enjoyable spring holiday and a very Happy Easter.

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015Page 4

Senior SchoolThe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme

The Duke of Edinburgh Scheme continues to be popu-lar with the following awards being gained in the Spring term:

Bronze Awards:

Hiba Alhasso, Mìcheal Callan, Calum Esler, Marcus Forbes, Katie Forrest, Duncan Fraser, Ewan Gibson-Smith, Keshav Mahendra, Joseph McGrath Williams, Ross Mitchell, Christopher O'Leary, Joseph Petrie, Caspar Schwahn, James Stewart, Pranav Venkatesh (all S4).

Silver Awards:Emma Anderson, Niall Cameron, Fraser Robertson, Alexa Roditi (all S6); Kirsty Anderson, Zoe Chu, Euan Bodie, Kirst Campbell-Birkett, Emma Cross, Niamh Frizzell, Inez Gallagher, Jonathan Goodwin, Andrew Holt, Alex Hutton, Josh Oxby, Sam Quinn, Ellie Renton, Ela Sefcikova, Cammy Sriram, Murray Webster, Cami Wells and Liam Wright (all S5).

First Aid

Pupils took part in some further training in late January, under the supervision of John Ferguson of First Aid UK. They learned about cardiopulmonary resuscitation, known more commonly as CPR, practising for the first time on resuscitation manikins acquired thanks to a grant from the British Heart Foundation.

The following pupils all passed a Practical First Aid Course: Gemma Campbell, Cameron Forsyth, Mary Fraser, Sean Lai, Lauren MacDonald, Rebecca McInnes, Eoghan O’Neill, Marco Palmarini, Amy Provan (all S3); Lloyd Creevy, Katie Forrest, Findlay Hamilton, Saumya Maheshwari (all S4); Ellie Renton (S5); Calum McColl and Abby Pugh (both S6).

AROUND THE DEPARTmENTS

British Biology Olympiad

Jasmine Aikman (S6) was awarded a gold medal and Hatti Yao (S6) a bronze medal in the British Biology Olympiad (BBO), the Society of Biology’s national competition for 16-18 year olds and will attend a Society Awards ceremony later this year. A further two pupils, Navina Senthilkumar and Georgia Callander (both S6), were awarded certificates of commendation.

Higher Geography Urban Fieldwork

Mrs Cowan and her Higher Geography class carried out a day of urban fieldwork as part of their course in late January. Following a transect from the suburbs to the city centre, pupils investigated aspects of the urban environment at seven different sites, including land-use mapping, environmental quality surveys, building height, pedestrian and traffic counts and shop/build-ing condition surveys. Pupils collected a vast quantity of data, which were then analysed and presented to explain the different urban environments.

National Science & Engineering Week

Transitus to S3 pupils took part in ‘Code-a-thon,’ a week of coding activities as Computing Science's contribution to British Science & Engineering Week. A ‘Wall Of Code’ was present in the Computing corridor with post-it notes featuring something pupils learned or enjoyed during their day of coding.

Our Junior Mathematics pupils put on an assembly to point out the wonder and importance of maths, whilst a few lucky pupils took to the school playing fields on the morning of 20th March, to experience a Total Solar Eclipse, the first of its kind in Europe for nearly two decades.

We were privileged to welcome Professor Gordon Dutton to the school, not once, but twice in the space of a week, in March. Professor Dutton is the Emeritus Professor of Visual Science at Glasgow Caledonian University and is one of the foremost authorities on Cerebral Visual Impairment and a patron of the CVI Society. He was also Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow. He treated pupils to a fascinating assembly, discussing the visual system, and the potential abili-ties of individuals without vision to “see” through the use of Human Echolocation. He returned later in the week to capture our pupils’ imaginations with a lecture entitled “A Vision of Vision,” which discussed, in more depth, the complexities of the visual system.

French Exchange

In March, 24 S3 pupils hosted their partners from Lyon in the first leg of this year’s French Exchange. The French youngsters enjoyed trips to New Lanark, Kelvingrove Museum and Glasgow Science Centre as well as a daytrip to Edinburgh. The week was rounded off with a Ceilidh in the Assembly Hall. All are very much looking forward to the return visit to Lyon in May.

Business/Enterprise micro-Tyco

February saw our entrepreneurial Micro-Tyco par-ticipants, under the guidance of Mrs Milne, taking £1 ‘seed capital’, and attempting to turn it into as much money as possible in the space of only a few weeks. Many teams took part, raising £826.49 overall. Team HSOG 13, made up of Helena Gronski, Anna Lilley, Leah Higgins, Daya Panesar (all S2), did particularly well, turning their £1 into £470.58, by hosting a char-ity lunch, as well as raffling off several items, including a signed copy of a novel by Scottish writer, Christopher Brookmyre.

modern Studies

Sheriff Joe Platt delivered a talk to Modern Studies pupils on the Scottish legal system, giving an informa-tive overview of cases that come before the Sheriff Court in Glasgow. Pupils asked a variety of questions, ranging from the police’s power to stop and search through to double jeopardy and the need for corrobora-tion, and developed their awareness of the continuing complexities and challenges faced by law professionals in Scotland.

Westminster Trip

13 Advanced Higher Modern Studies pupils visited London in January. Pupils were treated to a tour of the Houses of Parliament by John Robertson, Labour MP for Glasgow North West, and visited the House of Lords. Q & A sessions with Liberal Democrat MP, Jo Swinson, and SNP MP, Angus Brendan MacNeil, gave insight into the life of MPs from different political parties and the inner workings of Parliament. Pupils also got to wit-ness first-hand the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) and had the chance to visit 10 Downing Street, before being whisked off to 1960s Dagenham by the West End musical "Made in Dagenham".

S3 Scottish Parliament Trip

In early February, S3 Modern Studies pupils visited the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. They took in the spectacular architecture of the building before being given information on the set-up of the Parliament, its parties and their leaders. They attended First Ministers Questions (FMQs), and met Kezia Dugdale MSP, deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party, and Jackie Baillie MSP.

STAFF NEWS

We are grateful to Mrs Mary McCaffer, who has taught the S6 Higher Geography set from October until April, and wish her every happiness as she resumes her retirement.

COmPETITION SUCCESS

Sara millar - Rotary Club Competitions

Transitus pupil, Sara Millar, attended the Rotary Club of Glasgow Lunch in mid-January, along with Mrs Maclean and Miss Moore, to receive her trophy for winning the local heat of the Rotary Young Chef Competition, from Club President Robin Garside. She was also given a set of chef’s whites from Ronald De Wild of the Marriott Hotel, presented with afternoon tea for four at The Willow Tea Rooms, from owner, Anne Mulhern and received a cooking lesson from Michelin starred chef, Martin Wishart, in March.

In late January at the District Heat of the RIBI Young Chef, at South Lanarkshire College, East Kilbride, Sara performed admirably against nine other young chefs but she lost out to a 5th Year St Ninian’s High School Kirkintilloch student.

Rotary International Youth Speaks – West of Scotland Final

Alex Gould, Chris O’Leary (both S4) and Murray Webster (S5) represented the school in the West of Scotland final of the Rotary International Youth Speaks public speaking competition. They faced tough oppo-sition from throughout the region, but performed extremely well to come out victorious. They advanced to the next round – the Scottish and North of England finals – which took place in Linlithgow in March. They again competed excellently to win the competition and will now take part in the UK Final, which takes place in Brentwood, Essex, in May.

ESU mace Senior Debating Competition

Two S6 pupils took part in the 2nd round of the ESU Mace Senior Debating Competition in early February. Navina Senthilkumar and Alice Walker competed against Lenzie Academy, with the motion being: “This house believes that all politicians should have to stand as independent, unaffiliated candidates in elections.” Our team offered a compelling enough argument to come out victorious but unfortunately were knocked out in the third round in late February.

UK Schools’ Challenge Quiz

Our school quiz team competed in the Scottish Final in March, finishing runners up to the team from Hutchesons’ Grammar School.

maths

Intermediate Maths ChallengeAt the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge, pupils obtained 9 Gold, 14 Silver and 23 Bronze awards. Congratulations to all of our medallists, particularly Junwen Chen (S4), who was Best in School, scoring an impressive full marks in the challenge. Junwen, along with Duncan Fraser, Abhishek Gambhir, Euan Gibson-Smith and Keshav Mahendra (all S4) were amongst the top 500 pupils in the UK and have been invited to take part in the next round of the prestigious Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad.

UK Maths Trust Junior Team ChallengeCongratulations to Daniel Bogomolnyi-Moulin, Reuben Gilson-Barnett (both S1); Tanya Smoli and Mark Ward (S2) who performed well to finish 2nd out of 30 teams at the recent UK Mathematics Trust Junior Team Challenge.

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015 Page 5

Berlin Trip

During the mid-term break, 17 Advanced Higher History pupils, along with Miss Sutherland and Mr Broadbent, embarked on a four day trip to Berlin. They were given the opportunity to visit key sites stud-ied in the course and see the legacy that WWII and the Cold War has left behind in the German capital. Cultural visits included walking tours to Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate and of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, as well as tours of the German Resistance Memorial Centre, Wannsee and the Topographie des Terrors. The trip proved to be a fantastic experience for broadening the group’s understanding of a period of time being studied in class and their knowledge of an extremely interesting part of German history.

EVENTS

S6 Lectures

Human RightsS6 pupils were treated to a fascinating lunchtime lec-ture in late January, delivered by Mr Stephen Miller, on the subject “Human Rights, Law and Equality: What did the EU ever do for us?” Mr Miller, a school parent and member of the Board of Governors, is a Partner in the Scottish Law Firm, Simpson & Marwick, specialising in Employment and Discrimination Law.

Pupils have also been treated to lectures this term from former pupil and refugee advocate, Jamie Spurway, on “Refugees in Scotland” and from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service on the responsibilities faced by young drivers.

4th and 5th Year Ceilidh

S4 and S5 pupils enjoyed their annual ceilidh in late January after the stresses of Prelim examinations. The

ceilidh committee, alongside Miss McAllister and Mrs Morrison, helped to plan and organise the evening, hosted by MCs, Aimee Barr and Josh McGowan (both S5). There were also musical performances from Mara Crombie, accompanied by Caitlin Fleming (both S5), Emily Gilbride, accompanied by Ruairidh Wallace and Adam Stanley (all S4), and Lucy McVicar (S5).

HELPING OTHERS

Transitus Visit East Park School

Seven Transitus pupils and Mrs Paterson visited East Park School in Maryhill in early January. The pupils were there to hand over their Christmas Fundraising cheque for £2,200, alongside a project book they had created to explain how the money had been raised. Our pupils had a tour of the school, met some of the pupils and were excited to find out that the money raised would be used for special riding lessons for disabled children.

Pupil Gets the Chop for Charity

Alyssa Quigley (S6), raised £1,655 through sponsor-ship for the Little Princess Trust by donating 15 inches of her hair to the charity, which makes wigs for sick children. She said: “This amazing charity helps young-sters suffering from cancer or alopecia. I really wanted to raise awareness of what they do as I’d love to see it flourish in the future.”

Bannerman House Fundraising Week

Bannerman House hosted a week of fundraising at the school in mid-February, raising £4,257.70 to build two 10,000-litre tanks for collecting and safely storing water for a primary school in Kenya. After last year’s successful ‘Build-a-Bog with Bannerman’ appeal, Bannerman House again chose to support Build Africa’s work with Miti Mingi Primary School with a

week of fun, water-themed activities. Throughout the week, Bannerman buskers performed around the school and a wishing well was located in the foyer, where pupils and staff were encouraged to throw in a donation and leave a well-wishing message on the board for Miti Mingi pupils. Bannerman House also sought to offer an insight into the conditions faced by individuals throughout Africa, who live far from a water source, by asking people to take turns doing laps of the school, whilst carrying a rucksack containing around 15 litres of water. Bannerman House had ini-tially set the target of raising £3,325 for the project called ‘Contain the Rain,’ but exceeded this by nearly 30% through the overwhelming generosity of pupils, staff and the wider School Community. They are in discussions with Miti Mingi Primary School about how best to use the extra £932.70 to benefit the local com-munity in Kenya.

moore House Fundraising Week

In mid-March, Moore House were fundraising for the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, a special-ised cancer care centre, located at Gartnaval General Hospital in Glasgow and one of the best facilities of its kind in Europe, providing specialist care with the help of some of the most skilled and dedicated healthcare professionals in the country. To raise funds, Moore House pupils put on various activities throughout the week, including potentially painful leg-waxing for staff and pupils alike, an Easter-egg hunt, a battle of the bands, a Hockey (mis?)match featuring the Boys’ Rugby XV taking on the Girls’ Hockey XI and the chance to pay a small donation for a song dedication in The Stand all week. There were also Beatson Charity wristbands on sale. At the end of the week, Moore House had raised over £2,000. We congratulate Mr MacCorquodale, Miss McAllister and the whole of Moore House on this excel-lent total, raised for a fantastic cause.

S3 SCOTTISH PARLIAmENT TRIPSARA mILLER ROTARY YOUNG CHEF FIRST AID TRANSITUS VISIT TO EAST PARK

WESTmINSTER TRIP - 10 DOWNING STREET

STEPHEN mILLER LECTUREBERLIN TRIP - CHECKPOINT CHARLIECODE-A-THON - WALL OF CODE

PROFESSOR DUTTON LECTURE BANNERmAN FUNDRAISING WEEK

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015Page 6

mUSIC

ABRSm February Exams

In the ABRSM exams in February, pupils of the Senior School achieved 16 passes, 6 Merits and 11 Distinctions. Of special mention was S6 pupil and school captain, Charlotte Gilbride, who achieved a Grade 8 pass with distinction in singing.

The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

In January, a number of pupils were selected as part of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland’s Junior and Senior Orchestras for 2015. The school was particu-larly well represented this year in the Junior Orchestra, with 12 young musicians being selected. This repre-sents over 1/10th of the entire Junior Orchestra!

Congratulations go to the following pupils:

NYOS Junior OrchestraHelena Downie (J6); Eilidh Davidson, Reuben Gilson-Barnett, Jessica Insall (all S1); Eve Downie, Ella Fraser, Ben Litherland, Mairi Ross (all S2); Duncan Fraser, Abhishek Gambhir, Christopher O’Leary and Rachel Whitelaw (all S4).

NYOS Senior OrchestraPatrick Finn and Moray Lennox (both S5); Mairi Ross (S2) is on the reserve list.

NYOS Training EnsembleMatthew Litherland and Amelia Neilson (both Trans).

Christopher O’Leary was also offered a place in the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra as well a most unique opportunity – the chance to conduct the RNSO! This comes as part of a youth ‘takeover’ day, when selected pupils take over every single aspect of the RNSO organisation.

National Youth Choir of Scotland

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been offered places in one of the National Youth Choirs of Scotland for 2015:

National Boys’ Choir of ScotlandAdam Insall and Andrew Whitelaw (both Trans).

National Girls’ Choir of ScotlandMaryam Khan (S1), Rebecca McInnes (S3) and Kirsty Stirling (S4).

Scottish Schools’ Pipe Band Championships

The Scottish Schools’ Pipe Band Championships took place in Edinburgh in early March, with our pipe band and accompanying musicians going one better than last year by winning the Freestyle competition! Competing against eleven other schools, includ-ing last year’s winners, Gordonstoun, the Freestyle competition saw school pipe bands join with other instrumentalists to showcase the versatility of pipes and the creativity of music departments. The empha-sis in this competition was on “music, innovation and fun.” Our victorious band performed Slàn Leat, a medley of Scottish Traditional tunes, as arranged by Pipe Major, Gregor Norris (S6). It was a real col-laborative effort from the band who were made up of Gregor Norris, Harry Mackenzie (S6), also on Pipes,

Sarah Kerr (S6) playing the Flute, Patrick Finn (S5) on Violin, Màiri Callan (S3) on Clàrsach and Vocals, Inez Gallagher (S5) on Clàrsach, James Stewart (S4) on Bass Guitar, Murray Foggo (S6) on the Drumkit, Drew Young on Conga Drums (S6), Catriona James (S2) on Tenor Drum, Ross Flanagan (S2) on Samba Drum and Beth Gold (S5) on Bass Drum. There was a unique feel to our performance too, with Caitlin Fleming of S5 performing a traditional dance routine to accom-pany the music. The adjudicators, including a Red Hot Chilli Piper, and an eminent Pipe Major, were clearly impressed with the High School team, declaring them winners of the Freestyle competition, commending all the young musicians on their talent and profession-alism. Guest of honour, Richard Findlay, the Chair of Creative Scotland, awarded the winning shield to Gregor Norris and the team.

Glasgow music Festival Success

Congratulations to all pupils who gained awards in vari-ous singing and instrumental classes at the Glasgow Music Festival. First Place: Adam Insall (Trans) – Boys’ Vocal Solos Class (11 and under); Anna Lilley – Clarsach Solo B Traditional & Solo B Non-Traditional Classes, Millie Haldane – Songs from the Shows (both S2); Inez Gallagher (S5) Clarsach Solo A Traditional Class. Second Place: Sebastian Schneeberger (S2) – Songs from the Shows; Heather Kelly (S4) – Songs from the Shows. Third Place: Duniya Majumder (S1) – Piano Solo; Amy Provan and Zoe Robertson – Duets Class, Catriona Walker – Songs from the Shows (all S3); Calum Esler – Male Solo Voices 18 and under, Duncan Fraser – Piano Solos Modern & Woodwind and Brass Class Modern (both S4); Ian Black – Songs from the Shows (15 & 16), Moray Lennox – Composition: Open Class & Unaccompanied Bach Violin Class, Lucy McVicar – Songs from the Shows (all S5); Fourth Place: Christopher O'Leary (S4) – Opera Class, Ages 18 and Under.

Senior Spring Concert

The Senior Spring Concert at the end of Term featured music inspired by and (in some cases tenuously) related to our distinguished Rector, Mr Colin Mair. All the Senior Ensembles performed a wide variety of music, including the Jazz Band, Senior Strings, Concert Band, Senior Orchestra, Percussion Ensembles and the Celtic Fusion Group. The evening included many surprises for our retiring Rector.

SingFest Final

This year’s Final of SingFest took place on 25th March in the school Assembly Hall, adjudicated by Mrs Margaret Aronson, a distinguished vocal tutor who has worked with Scottish Opera, and has recently retired from the Vocal Department of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Vocal soloists and ensembles from Transitus to S6 were selected from a competitive 1st Round and invited to perform at the Final, designed to showcase some of the most outstanding vocal tal-ent in the Senior School. There were three awards for Outstanding Musicianship - The Iain Paterson Award in Classical Solo: shared between Euan Campbell-Birkett and Sara Pearce; The Nadine Livingston Award in Theatrical Solo: Adam Atri; The Peter Douglas Award in Ensemble: Sarah Pearce and Celia Petrie (all S6). The awards for Outstanding Potential went to Lois McColl (S1), Amy Provan and Zoe Robertson (both S3).

Junior musical Production - ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Over two evenings in March, the High School of Glasgow Junior Players put on their production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. The many months of preparation were evident as audiences were treated to an entertaining show. The Principal cast were Philippa Newbery (S2) as ‘Dorothy’, Scott Hornell (both S2) as ‘Scarecrow’, Cathal Callan (Trans) as ‘Tin Man’, Kai Ross (S2) as ‘Lion’, Rhys Evans (S2) as ‘The Wizard of Oz’, Cate Sibbald (S2) as ‘Glinda’ and Millie Rayner (S2) as ‘The Wicked Witch’. They were joined by an extensive sup-porting cast and a nearly 50-strong Chorus. The show was directed by Miss Lyndsey Fenton with Miss Pauline O’Hagan as Assistant Director. Musical Direction came from Mrs Jane Tierney, with a band featuring both school Music Staff and Senior School pupils. Thanks also to the extensive support team backstage.

Other music News

Natalie Graham-Scott (S5) helped to organise and host an evening of entertainment in Dalry, Ayrshire, to raise funds for ‘Classrooms for Malawi,’ a project which involves Natalie and some of her family going out to Africa later this year. Our very own Mrs Stuart and Mrs Mitchell even took part, playing for the ceilidh, with Natalie playing violin, singing and leading the dancing. Ian Black (S5) who is currently involved with Scottish Opera Connect, was invited to perform in the Royal Variety Concert on Thursday 12 March.

mEmBERS OF NYOS JUNIOR ORCHESTRA

SINGFEST

THE WIzARD OF Oz

STEPHEN mILLER LECTUREROTARY INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SPEAKS

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015 Page 7

SportAthletics

Scottish Schools’ Indoor Athletics ChampionshipsThere was success at the Scottish Schools’ Indoor Athletics Championships in early February. Alice Baxendale (S2) finished a creditable 7th in the U16 Shot Putt event, whilst Mark Revie (S6) came close to picking up a medal, finish-ing 4th in the O16 High Jump. However, S4 pupil, James Stewart, went one better in the U16 High Jump event. He jumped excellently to finish second and win a Silver medal.

James was selected to attend a Scottish Schools’ Athletic Association Coaching Day at Pitreavie Stadium, Fife, at the end of March.

Auldhouse & Minerva Cups48 girls and 55 boys from the school took part in indoor athletics at the Emirates Arena in March. Our girls competed well to finish second, behind winners of the Auldhouse Cup, Hutchesons’ Grammar School. However, led by athletics captain, Mark Revie, our boys went one better. In an excellent competition, they pipped Hutchesons’ Grammar School at the post, finishing first and winning the Minerva Cup.

Badminton

Scottish Quaich Finals At the beginning of March, our U19 and U14 Badminton sides competed in the Scottish Quaich Finals in Ravenscraig, having qualified via victory at the Glasgow Badminton Quaich in early December. Both our U19 and U14 teams performed admirably, finishing 6th and 8th respectively.

Glasgow Schools' Badminton ChampionshipsThere was both team and singles success at the Glasgow Schools’ Badminton Championships in late January. Excellent performances throughout saw the school pick up a haul of 6 singles medals (2 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze) and 4 team medals (3 Silver, 1 Bronze). U14: Silver – Boys’ Doubles: Cameron Virdee and Rohan McMillan (both S1). U16: Gold – Boys’ Singles: Abishek Gambhir (S4). Silver – Boys’ Singles: Guan-An Chen (S3). Boys’ Doubles: Abishek Gambhir and Saumya Maheshwari (S4). Bronze – Boys’ Doubles: Keshav Mahendra (S4) and Jay McMillan (S2). U19: Gold – Boys’ Singles: James Stanley (S6). Silver – Boys’ Singles: Ashwin Bali (S6). Girls’ Singles: Jasmine Aikman (S6). Mixed Doubles: Jasmine Aikman and James Stanley. Bronze – Boys’ Singles: Mark Revie (S6)

Cross-Country

Glasgow Secondary Schools’ Cross-Country ChampionshipsIn late February, many of our pupils took part in the Glasgow Schools’ Cross-Country Championships at Nether Pollok, with some great all-round success for all age groups. 11 team medals (2 Gold, 5 Silver, 4 Bronze) and 4 individual medals (1 Silver, 3 Bronze) were won. Individual Results: Silver – Boys: Ben Taylor (S2); Bronze – Boys: Panos Kourouklis (S1). Girls: Tori Maguire (S4), Alex Jones (Trans). Team Gold medals (Top 4 in team count to overall position and top 6 awarded medals): Gold – S2 Boys: Ben Taylor, Ben Hutton, Brodie Wells, Rhudi Baume-Kennedy, Sandy Greig and Oliver Warden. S1 Boys: Panos Kourouklis, Ross Gray, Gordon Sivarajan, Michael Kourouklis, Adam Kennedy and Robbie Brawley.

Scottish Schools’ Cross Country ChampionshipsBronze medals were won at the Scottish Schools’ Cross-Country Championships in early March, at the Magnum Leisure Centre in Irvine. Excellent running from our U17 girls, U15 boys and U14 boys saw each team pick up Bronze medals. Additionally, there were credible 5th place finishes for the O17 girls and 7th place finishes for both the U15 and U14 girls’ teams.

Football

Congratulations to Georgia and Mhairi Crooks (both S1) who took part in successful trials for the SFA's Under 14 West Region Squads. Mhairi has been selected for the Development Squad, whilst Georgia was selected for the Performance Squad.

S4 pupil, Oli Crawford, was selected to take part in the Scotland Women’s Under-16 training camp in late January. Oli, who plays for Glasgow City FC, was one of 30 girls selected to take part in the 3 day camp at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility and Toryglen Regional Football Centre.

She was then selected to represent Scotland Women’s U16 side in a UEFA Women’s U16 Development Mini Tournament in Portugal in mid-February. They faced extremely tough opposition, in the form of Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, with matches taking place at the Stadium Vila Real de Santo Antonio, in the Algarve, with Oli featuring in all three matches.

Gymnastics

Transitus gymnast, Maia Gillespie, won a Gold medal in the 11/12 years category at the Scottish Tumbling Finals in March, which took place at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, Motherwell. She has now qualified for the British Finals, which will take place in June of this year.

Hockey

Erin Gilchrist and Ellie Hutcheson (both S6) were selected to travel to Germany with the Scotland Under-18 Hockey side in March. Whilst there, they competed in two inter-national fixtures against Germany.

Erin, who is the Goalkeeper and Vice-Captain of our 1st XI, has also been selected for the full Scotland training squad. She will train full time over the summer in preparation for the European Championships, which take place in London in late August.

Scottish Schools’ FinalsThere was an extremely long day of Hockey for our 1st XI side as the re-scheduled Scottish Schools’ Finals took place at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre in March. They had qualified for the Scottish Schools’ Finals after winning their 4th consecutive West District BP Cup back in December. After hard-fought draws with St Columba’s School and Robert Gordon’s College and excellent vic-tories over George Watson’s College and Gordonstoun School, our side finished second in their section. In a very exciting semi-final, the girls drew 1-1 with Strathallan School, leading to a penalty shoot-out where Erin Gilchrist (S6), saved all three of Strathallan's penalties, with Ellie Hutcheson (S6) scoring to win the match.

The final, against George Heriot's School, took place a few days later at the same venue. In a tight game, our girls competed well, unfortunately losing by a single second half score. Congratulations to the 1st XI squad on their tremendous achievement of reaching a Scottish Final - Annie Shields (Captain), Erin Gilchrist (Vice-Captain), Emily Crozier, Eilidh Ferguson, Jodie Fraser, Carla Godsman, Ellie Hutcheson, Navina Sentilkumar, Zoe Westerduin (all S6); Caitlin Fleming, Niamh Frizzell, Iona MacKillop, (all S5); Fiona Baillie, Sammy Bell, Oli Crawford and Stephanie Wood (all S4).

High School of Glasgow 7's TournamentIn March, the ‘B’ side competed well but did not qualify from their section. The 'A' side came through their section undefeated, then defeated Jordanhill School on sudden death running penalties after a 1-1 draw. Our girls then performed excellently in the final, defeating Craigholme School 2-0, to win the trophy.

West District 7's 'B' Team SuccessCongratulations to the Hockey 'B' Team who were victori-ous at the West District 7's Tournament. Having won their section, they defeated Kelvinside Academy in the semi-final, before a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Htuchesons'

Grammar School in the final. Congratulations to Emily Crozier (Captain), Emma Brady, Navina Sentilkumar, Katy Sifton (all S6); Megan Cox, Niamh Frizzell (both S5); Sammy Bell, Olivia Canning, Tori Maguire and Stephanie Wood.

Lomond Festival of HockeyOur Transitus Hockey side were victorious at the Lomond Festival of Hockey in late February. In defeating Craigholme School, St Aloysius’ College, St. Columba’s School and Hutchesons’ Grammar School, they won their section comprehensively, without conceding a single goal. Congratulations to our team - Alex Jones (Captain), Christina Miller (Vice-Captain), Abigail Buxton, Jennifer Cuthill, Maia Gillespie, Amy Gilson-Barnett, Bailey Mulvey, Lily Paterson, Charlotte Sim, Anna Smith, Tabitha Steven and Isla Stirling.

Transitus Hockey TournamentsAt the Glasgow Academy event, despite remaining unbeaten and topping their section, our girls lost narrowly in a hard fought quarter-final with Hutchesons’ Grammar School. However, there was success in the George Watson’s tournament the following day. The girls finished second in their section, winning two matches and nar-rowly losing one. In the Plate competition, they performed well to defeat George Heriot’s School and Dollar Academy.

West District S1 TournamentThe 1st Year girls came agonisingly close to winning the West District 1st Year Tournament in mid-March. They came through their group section undefeated and were victorious over Hutchesons’ Grammar School in the semi-final, with a 3-0 penalty shoot-out victory, after a scoreless draw. In the final, after a 0-0 draw and 5 running penalties each, our girls eventually lost on sudden death penalties to Glasgow Academy.

Hutchesons’ Grammar School S2 TournamentIn March, our Girls’ 2nd Year A Hockey side competed in the Hutchesons’ Grammar School S2 tournament, coming through their section unbeaten, with wins over St Aloysius College and Kelvinside Academy, and a score-less draw with Lomond School, but lost 4-3 on running penalties to Glasgow Academy in the next round.

West District 2nd XI Tournament The 2nd XI reached the final of the West District tour-nament in late February, hosted at Old Anniesland. The girls played well throughout the tournament, qualifying from their section with victories over Craigholme and Jordanhill Schools and a goalless draw with Hutchesons’ Grammar School. They achieved a hard fought 1-0 vic-tory over St Aloysius’ College in the semi-final, leading to another meeting with Hutcheson’s Grammar School in the final. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, our girls

RUGBY 7'S

HOCKEY

The High School of Glasgow • April 2015Page 8

Forthcoming Events

Registered Scottish Charity, No. SCO14768

There will be a full list of events in the Summer Term Calendar published at the beginning of term, and available on the school website: www.glasgowhigh.com, but you may wish to note the following dates:

suffered a narrow loss and so won silver medals - Katy Sifton (Captain), Emma Brady (Vice Captain), Jasmine Aikman, Navina Sentilkumar, Rosie Wakeman (all S6); Megan Cox, Mara Crombie, Lauren Flanagan, Ellie Renton, Hannah Stewart, Cami Wells (all S5); Katie Bulloch, Olivia Canning, Mirrin Gillespie and Tori Maguire (all S4).

Boys’ Hockey

The boys had a slow start to the year with a number of matches called off due to frozen pitches. Under the guid-ance of coach, Mr Nigel Clarke, assisted by Mr Daryl Jarvis, they have played well, showing their usual com-mitment and developing skill levels. The U16 team lost only one game all season whilst the 1st XI has had a more mixed return for their efforts. In March, the 1st XI competed in the Glasgow Academy tournament, drawing two matches and losing one.

muay Thai

Spencer Brown (S5) has recently been named number one in Scottish Muay Thai for his weight class, junior featherweight. He has also been invited to compete in the biggest Muay Thai event in the UK, Yokkao, where he will compete against professional fighters from all over the world.

Netball

The senior netball team performed well in the Scottish Cup bronze section, defeating St Margaret’s School and Balfron High School, to reach a semi-final with Woodmill High School. In a very exciting match, our team unfortu-nately lost very narrowly, 28-26.

Ski-ing

SSSA Alpine Secondary Qualifier Race, GlencoeOur Skiers participated (in very poor visibility!) in the Scottish Schools Alpine Series Qualifier at Glencoe. Congratulations to our ‘A’ team – Murray McKillop (S5; Captain), Marcus Forbes (S4), Isla Petrie and Robbie Simmers (both S3) – who secured third place.

Squash

Calum McColl, Luke Steven (both S6) and Tabitha Steven (Trans) competed in the West District Schools Squash Championship at Newlands Tennis Courts in early March. Our team came 6th with special mention for Tabitha who played at short notice due to a call off and held her own against much older boys.

Rugby

The 1st XV has gone on to improve markedly through-out the season with many boys stepping up to this level.

Although many games have been cancelled this term due to the weather, the boys finished in a winning vein which culminated in beating Hutchesons' Grammar in early March, having lost to them twice previously in the season. The squad is now looking forward to an Easter tour to northern Italy where they will have 3 fixtures against local opposition.

High School of Glasgow 7's TournamentOur ‘A’ side won their section with 3 victories from 3 matches, before defeating Morrison’s Academy, 19-12, in the semi-final. Unfortunately, despite a great effort, they were defeated, 10-34, by George Heriot's School, in the final. The ‘B’ team also performed very well to qualify from their section but were defeated in the Plate semi-final by eventual winners, Hutchesons' Grammar School. Well done to our 7s ‘A’ team: Adam Atri, Euan Campbell-Birkett, Jack Fraser, Harry Mackenzie, Sam MacInnes, Lachie Stubing (all S6); Calum Dunn, Andrew Holt, Fraser Marshall and Mark Taylor (all S5).

Hutchesons Grammar School 7’s TournamentOur ‘A’ side competed well at the Hutchesons’ Grammar School Sevens Tournament. They won their group, defeating Hutchesons’ ‘B’, Lomond School and Glasgow Academy, on their way to a semi-final clash with St Aloysius’ College. Despite an excellent effort, they lost the semi-final 21-14.

Hutchesons' Grammar School S1 7's TournamentWell done to the S1 rugby team performed excellently to win the Consolation Plate at the Hutchesons' Grammar School S1 7's Tournament in March. Two excellent wins and one draw meant that our side qualified for the Consolation Plate semi-final, where they defeated St Aloysius’ College 11-8. In the Consolation Plate final, they performed well, defeating George Heriot's School, 18-10.

Swimming

Scottish Schools’ Finals The Scottish Schools’ Finals took place in Aberdeen in late

January. An excellent performance from Transitus pupil, Douglas Kelly, saw him not only achieve a first place fin-ish and a gold medal in the Boys 12-and-under 50 metre Breaststroke, but also a new Scottish record, with a time of 37.15 seconds. Congratulations to the Girls' Relay Team of Anya MacLean (J6), Alex Jones, Christina Miller and Anna Smith (all Trans) who won Gold medals, with a fantastic comeback in the 12-and-under 4 x 50 metre Freestyle Relay race and the Boys’ Relay Team, consisting of Transitus pupils Cathal Callan, Finn Harris, Douglas Kelly and Scott Williamson, who won Silver medals in the 12-and-under 4 x 50 metre Freestyle Relay.

Primary Schools’ Swimming GalaThere was success in the swimming pool for Transitus pupils in mid-January, at the Primary Schools’ Swimming Gala. Our joint J5, J6 and Transitus boys’ and girls’ teams came out victorious at the annual invitational event, at Whitehill Pool.

Annual Swimming GalaThe school’s annual Swimming Gala took place in early February, at Drumchapel Pool, with some competitive rac-ing leading to 7 new school records being achieved. The overall standings at the end of the gala meant that the Junior Inter-House trophy was awarded to Moore House, with the Senior trophy being won by Bannerman House.

Glasgow Primary Schools’ Swimming FinalsThe Glasgow Primary Schools’ Swimming Finals took place at Drumchapel Pool in late February, with pupils from J5, J6 and Transitus swimming well, to pick up 12 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals – a combined total of 24 medals (18 individual, 6 relay). Congratulations go to our Transitus medallists: Gold: Douglas Kelly – 12 Years Free + 12 Years Breaststroke (in new record time), Finn Harris – 12 Years Backstroke; Team Gold: 12 Years Boys Relay (Lorne Trophy), 12 Years Girls Relay (Kinning Park Trophy); Silver: Finn Harris – 12 Years Freestyle; Bronze: Anna Smith – 12 Years Breaststroke.

Beginning of Term Monday 20 April

Holidays During Term Monday 4 May, Friday 22 - Monday 25 May

Please note that on Saturday 2 May there will be cricket fixtures. There will, however, be no matches on Saturday 23 May, the weekend of the half-term holiday.

SQA Examination Arrangements Examination Leave: S4/S5: Mon 27 April - Fri 29 May S6: Mon 27 April - Mon 1 June

During the above periods, pupils will attend school only to sit exams unless they wish to study in school or consult members of staff, who will be happy to give last-minute help and advice.

Return to SchoolFourth Year and Fifth Year will return to school to receive their timetables and resume classes at 8.50 am on Monday 1 June.

Leavers’ CourseSixth Year pupils return to school on Tuesday 2 June to follow the Leavers’ Course. Parents of any Sixth Year

pupil wishing to leave school before the end of Session should please write to the Rector requesting permission by monday 27 April. However, unless there are exceptional circumstances, it is hoped that Sixth Year pupils will par-ticipate in the Leavers’ Course and support Summer Term activities.

School Examinations 3rd Year: Friday 1 May - Friday 8 May Transitus - 2nd Year: Tuesday 5 May - Friday 8 May

Junior 6 Visit to Newlands Adventure Centre Tuesday 12 May - Friday 15 May

First Year Outdoor Education Project: Raasay Group A: Friday 15 May - Tuesday 19 May Group B: Tuesday 19 May - Saturday 23 May

Fifth Year Careers Evening for Parents and Pupils Monday 8 June - 7.00 pm

Junior School Sports Thursday 11 June - 2.00 pm

Kindergarten Sports Friday 12 June at Senior School - 10.30 am

musicFest Monday 15 June - 7.00 pm

Senior School Sports Tuesday 16 June - 1.30 pm

midsummer madness Friday 19 June - 6.30 pm

Summer Choral Concert at the City Halls Monday 22 June - 7.00 pm

Junior School Prizegiving Wednesday 24 June - 2.00 pm

Senior School Prizegiving Thursday 25 June - 10.30 am

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold Expedition Friday 26 June - Tuesday 30 June

Transitus Visit to Normandy Sunday 2 August - Friday 7 August

Senior Rugby Camp, Rothesay Monday 10 August - Friday 14 August

HOCKEY mINERVA ATHLETICS CUP WINNERS