Holidays & Parents’ Evenings
11 August: In-Service Day
12 August: In-Service Day
13 August: School re-opens for pupils
6-17 October: Autumn Holiday
27-31 October: Outward Bound
6 November: S1 Parents’ Evening
19 November: S4 Parents’ Evening
27-28 November: In-Service days
9 December S5/6 Parents’ Evening
24 December-7 January: Christmas Holiday
5 February: S3 Subject Evening
12 February: In-Service Day
13 & 16 February: Holidays
6-17 April: Easter Holiday
4 March: S4 Parents’ Evening
17 February: S3 Parents’ Evening
16 March: S2 Parents’ Evening
4 May: Holiday
26 June: Summer Holiday
S4
WHS Parents’
Newsletter
Summer 2014
School Dux 2014
Key Contact Information
School Phone Number: 01575 577200
School Email: webstershigh@webstershigh.angus.gov.uk
Websites
Webster’s High: www.webstershigh.angus.sch.uk (not yet live)
Webster’s Parents: www.webstersparents.org.uk/
Angus Council: www.angus.gov.uk/
There have been various difficulties in building and maintaining an adequate school
website in recent years. However, we believe the main problems have been solved
there will be a much more satisfactory site in 2014-15. It will contain key information
about the school (and we welcome the opinion of parents on what they would like to
see available) and it will also have a Twitter feed which will be used to provide up to the
minute news on, for example, snow closures, delayed buses, trips out, sports’ fixtures,
etc.
The Parents’ Council website is an excellent resource. The PC will shortly be choosing a
new chair and committee. Details will be published before the October break.
Headteacher: Mrs Jane Esson (from August 2014)
Year Heads:
S5/6 Mr Currie
S4 Mr Smart
S3 Dr Matthew
S1/2Mrs Collins
Pupil Care & Support Staff (contact for any pastoral issues):
Clova: Ms Hutchison; Isla: Mrs Tosh; Moy: Mrs Murray; Prosen: Ms McGregor
School Trips: A 3 year major trips’ schedule will be issued early in the new session.
Webster’s highest academic accolade – School Dux – goes this year to Jack
Dunham who did outstandingly well in all his Higher subjects. It is quite a
triumph for the Dunham family because Jack’s sister, Alice, was Dux two years
ago. Runner-Up – our Proxime Accessit – is Heather Horsman. This is a
tremendous achievement for Heather because she only came to Webster’s
from Canada some eighteen months ago. She has fitted in very well and has
been a real star academically.
Many congratulations to both Jack and Heather who are pictured above at
the Edinburgh-Angus Garden party. This club awards prizes to local
secondary schools every year at a reception held in one of the area’s country
houses. This year it was in the superb setting of Glamis Castle.
Champion Young Engineers
County Sports
Once again Webster’s athletes
punched well above their
weight at the County Sports.
In spite of missing some
potential medallists who were
on the Barcelona trip, the
team finished third overall, a
really impressive performance.
Listed below are the medallists
but it was a real team effort,
with excellent spirit shown
throughout the day.
Pictured above are our three double
Gold Medallists:
Katie Anderson – 400 & 800 metres
Ben Starkey – 100 metres & Long Jump
Connor Campbell – High & Triple Jump
Event
1500mtrs
High Jump
Discus
Discus
100 mtrs
Long Jmp
High Jump
Triple Jmp
80 hurdles
800 mtrs
200 mtyrs
1500 mtrs
Discus
200 mtrs
100 mtrs
75 Hrdles
1500 mtrs
Shot
P
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
3
3
Pupil
Morven Adams
David Carr
Aiden Yule
Niamh Grunenberg
Ben Starkey
Ben Starkey
Chris Reid
Kane Alison
Kane Alison
Scott Gordon
Finlay Scott
Evan Whyte
Maggie Maxwell
Niamh O’Callaghan
Niamh O’Callaghan
Pip de Klerk
Adele Robertson
Bethany Cowan
Event
High Jump
80 Hrdles
800 mtrs
Javelin
Shot
Relay
200 mtrs
800 mtrs
1500 mtrs
High Jump
Triple jmp
400 mtrs
Hurdles
800 mtrs
400 mtrs
200 mtrs
High Jmp
100 mtrs
1500 mtrs
Triple Jmp
Shot
Discus
Long Jmp
Relay
P
2
3
2
3
3
3
1
3
3
1
1
2
3
1
1
1
2
2
1
2
2
2
3
2
Pupil
Robbie Bannerman
Robbie Bannerman
Lewis McLure
Lewis McLure
George Horseman
George, Lewis, Robbie, Euan
Hannah Dryden
Kirsty Randalls
Kirsty Randalls
Connor Campbell
Connor Campbell
Ben Reid
Louis Starkey
Katie Anderson
Katie Anderson
Eilidh de Klerk
Eilidh de Klerk
Eilidh de Klerk
Molly Redford
Molly Redford
Grace Eadie
Dana Soutar
Maddie Heath
Molly, Grace, Maddie, Eilidh
Stadium, Edinburgh.
Webster’s High School in
Angus has been awarded
the Lloyd’s Register
Foundation Secondary
Club of the Year 2014
from Young Engineers
and Science Clubs
Scotland (YESC), a
programme run by the
Scottish Council for
Development and
Industry (SCDI), during
its recent annual get
together at the
Celebration of
Engineering and Science
at the BT Murrayfield
Jim Milton of Webster’s High School said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised by
Young Engineers and Science Club Scotland. Our pupils had a fantastic day at the
Celebration and the Awards Ceremony and it’s great recognition for all of the staff and
pupils involved”. Jane Martin, Programme Director of Young Engineers and Science Clubs
said: “Webster’s High School richly deserved its award and this is entirely down to the
commitment and enthusiasm of the staff and pupils. Our event showcased all that is
good about Science and Engineering and Webster’s High School showed particular
prowess in bringing the
subject alive in the classroom in
a challenging but fun way. They
fully deserved the award.”
Young Engineers and Science
Clubs is a leading source of
inspiration, excitement and
resources for past, present and
future generations of young
scientists and engineers in
Scotland.
Pictured with their trophy are:
Andrew Smith, Hannah Dryden,
Rosie Robertson, Gemma
Robertson & Matthew Low
Retirals
Parent Council
This summer sees the retiral of four long serving members of staff. Pride of place must
go to Mrs Alison Ramsay. Alison has been teaching Home Economics in Webster’s for
thirty-one years. For some of that time she was a Guidance teacher and also the EIS
representative in the school. She has worked with three rectors and three heads of
Home Economics and witnessed three extensions to the original school building. She is
professional in absolutely everything she does and we wish her a long and happy
retirement. Her husband Derek has been a stalwart mini-bus driver for us in the last
couple of years. We hope Alison will release him from domestic duties to continue this
good work next session as well.
As you know we are raising money to buy a new minibus for the school and we’re very
nearly there. As a final push, we thought it would be great to support the school’s ecoaware agenda by promoting recycling in the form of a second hand school uniform sale!
The idea is that parents donate those items of clothing that were grown out of/ discarded
far before their use-by date and we sell them to raise funds for the minibus. Recycling
good quality school uniform makes a lot of sense. As well as reducing waste, it reduces
carbon emissions caused by manufacturing the clothing, which in turn offsets slightly the
emissions we will generate with the new minibus. And of course there is the added
bonus of helping our pockets with a bargain or two.
Mrs Gail Foulis and Mrs Alison Summers have been on our permanent staff since 2005
and 2004 respectively, though Alison first worked at Webster’s in the late 1980s. In
Business Studies and History they have prepared many pupils for external exams,
retaining a keen interest in their subjects which we are sure they will continue into their
retirement.
Please donate CLEAN, GOOD QUALITY, items of school uniform (removing all names first
please!) to the school and we’ll collect them, sort them and size them and when we have
enough, we’ll announce a sale which we really hope that you’ll support, feeling very
green about yourself! If successful, we’d like to continue this idea on an annual sale basis
and once we’ve raised enough to buy the minibus, we’d propose splitting any future
profits between the Kenyan School Link and a future Minibus fund.
Also leaving is the rector, Mr Eric Summers, after seventeen years in charge at Webster’s.
His reflections on his time in post are printed elsewhere in this Newsletter. We wish all
four an excellent retirement and hope they will stay in touch with the school over the
coming years.
The Parent Council would like to extend a warm
thanks to all the families for their generosity of
time, money and energy in helping to raise the
funds necessary for the minibus and very much
hope that you’ll support this one last final push to
get a new bus for the new term.
Many thanks
Jane Stork
(Chair, WHS Parent Council)
The Rector adds: Jane is stepping down in
September. She has been a wise counsellor and
wonderful supporter of the school. She is seen here
speaking to P7 Parents. She will chair our
Prizegiving at the end of term and her final duty
will be to lead the PC AGM in September when her
fine work will be properly recognised, perhaps with
a photograph alongside our new minibus for which
she has so assiduously campaigned.
Learning Lessons from Finland & Estonia
Finland and Estonia have
highly regarded
education systems
internationally. In the
latest Programme for
International Student
Assessment (PISA)
rankings these countries
came first and second respectively for pupil attainment in science education in Europe
(Britain by comparison is ninth in Europe). In February of this year I received notice that I
had been awarded a Winston Churchill travel scholarship which would enable me to
travel to Finland and Estonia to spend time in schools to try and learn the secrets of
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their success. On the 3 of May I arrived in Finland and spent the first week in the
Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Natural Sciences. The school specialised in science
education for pupils aged 16-19. During the second week I visited a school called
Kulosaaren which was a bilingual school teaching in both Finnish and English to pupils
aged 14-19. In both these schools it was interesting to learn about the Finnish science
curriculum as well as the way pupils are taught science and how they are assessed.
After two weeks in Finland I made the short ferry crossing to Tallinn the capital of
Estonia. Here I spent time in two schools called Realkool and Viimsi. Realkool was a
highly selective school where pupils had to pass entrance tests just to study there. It also
specialised in science education. Viimsi school was like Webster’s in that it did not select
pupils based on their ability.
In all four schools I spent time observing lessons, talking with teachers and pupils and
recording my findings on a daily basis. The trip has certainly opened my eyes to many
different aspects of teaching. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust would like me to
broadcast my findings to as many people as possible. I have already given a talk to staff
and if parents/carers would like to hear about what I have learned they should write to
me at the school (webmcintyren@webstershigh.angus.sch.uk).
If there is sufficient interest I will
arrange a presentation in the new
term after the summer holidays.
By the end of September I have to
produce a report of my findings
which will be made available to the
public. The report can be found on
the Winston Churchill Memorial
Trusts website:
http://www.wcmt.org.uk/
Dr Neil McIntyre (Chemistry teacher)
Webster’s Teacher at CERN
In February this year Physics teacher,
Mr Taylor, visited the European
Organisation for Nuclear Research
(CERN) near Geneva with a group of
science teachers from across the UK.
The visit gave teachers the
opportunity to have the functions
and operations of a variety of cutting
edge experiments explained by the
scientists and engineers who work at
CERN.Mr Taylor attended lectures
from some.
of CERN’s top researchers, took part in practical workshops and visited key site facilities
such as the Large Hadron Collider’s CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector, which was
instrumental in the discovery of the famous Higgs Boson particle. Since his return Mr
Taylor has given talks to all year groups at assembly and has delivered more detailed
lessons on the research being carried out at CERN to his science and physics classes.
Along with Mrs McGregor, who visited CERN in 2013, Mr Taylor is using his experiences
to help develop the new CfE Higher Physics course which contains lots of exciting new
content on particle physics.
Mr Taylor described his visit, which was organised and funded by the National Science
Learning Centre, as “the trip of a lifetime and one which I will try to make sure is of
benefit to the whole of Webster’s High School. I certainly know a lot more about the
important work being carried out at CERN and I hope to pass this on in my science
lessons in the future.”
Queensferry Bridge Outing
A party of new 4th year pupils travelled to
Queensferry in May to view the construction of
the new bridge over the River Forth. This is the
only place in the world where three major
bridges constructed in three centuries are so
close together. The students learned about the
new bridge’s design, construction techniques,
quantities of major materials involved, etc. A
follow-up visit has been confirmed for next May
when the structure of the cable-stayed bridge
will be much more visible.
Some Reflections on Leaving Webster’s
My retirement has taken me by surprise. Suddenly it has come upon me in a completely
unplanned way and that has left me a little bewildered. How, I’m wondering, has this
happened because, surely, it was only a few weeks ago that I was sitting behind the
Rector’s desk at Webster’s High for the first time? The words of my own first
headteacher, spoken in Falkirk more than thirty years ago, were clearly in my mind on
my first day in Webster’s. “You’re off to Angus,” he said. “That might be for a few years.
It might be for the rest of your career.”
It has, indeed, been for the rest of my career, working first in Forfar Academy, then
Montrose Academy and finally Webster’s High. I had a year at Montrose Academy as
Acting Rector and I’ve done seventeen years here. Eighteen years in charge. It’s
probably enough and, unexpected or not, it is time for someone else, with fresh thinking
and new energy and enthusiasm to take the school on to the next stage. That person will
be Mrs Jane Esson, a very highly-regarded Depute at Forfar Academy. I wish her well for
all her years in charge at Webster’s. She will find it an exciting experience.
Certainly I myself am not in any way bored by the job, or any less convinced of the
importance of education, or any less committed to its delivery in a comprehensive, local
authority, burgh school. It is good that Webster’s High is part of Angus Council and
especially good that it still sits at the heart of the community of Kirriemuir and the
surrounding area. Webster’s High was founded in 1837 by local banker John Webster
and 177 years later it is important that it is still seen as “our school” with close links to
local people and organisations. I trust it never becomes just a processing machine for
anonymous young people who have to obtain exam certificates. I hope it is and will
remain one part, albeit a particularly important part, of a community that values its
young people and collectively wishes to support them as they grow up and become
responsible and confident citizens. They are on a journey and we should all be travelling
with them.
My own professional journey has taught me much, has had its highs and lows, its thrills
and its challenges, but throughout I have worked with some remarkable people,
especially here in Webster’s.
The support and trust from parents has been extraordinary and the work of the School
Board, now Parent Council, under the chairmanship of Jim Ritchie, Alastair Cluley, Alan
Weir and latterly Jane Stork has been exemplary. From the Police I worked closely with
Phil Aiken and Pam Colvin who both hugely exceeded what was reasonable to expect of
them in their dealings with young people. The Rotary Club and the Alexander Trust have
been very generous to the school. The external agencies of Angus Council have been
unstinting in the way they have provided additional input to the school. The Chaplaincy
team, led throughout my time by Malcolm Rooney, has shared with the school a belief in
the potential of our young people and has regularly provided superb enhancement to the
learning process.
School staff, teaching and non-teaching, show a passion for this school every day. We are
human. We can get it wrong! But most of the time I think we have got it right because,
at the end of the day, we are all wanting the same thing: the best possible education for
our pupils and your sons and daughters.
The young people themselves have provided the best moments in my career, and these
have been recorded over the years in Parents’ Newsletters. Exam results, the Curriculum
2000 Award, the fantastic Talent Shows, the success in cross-country and other sports,
the girls winning the Scottish Cup, our athletes winning the County Sports, our skiers
becoming Scottish champions, most recently our engineering team’s triumphs (recorded
in this very Newsletter) and so much else. The list could go on and on. We should all take
pride in these successes. These are our young folk.
So what of their journey? Growing up and making your way in the world has always been
challenging. Previous generations lived through – or didn’t – the horrors of the Great
War, the Second World War and the Cold War. In truth we should be grateful that we
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live when we do. But our 21 century world does have its own perils: globalized
competition, uncertain employment, a changing world order, terrorism, global warming,
resource shortages, mass migrations and much more.
Our job as educationalists and parents is to build in our young people resilience and
ingenuity, compassion and understanding, willpower and wellbeing, knowledge and skills.
We try to equip them to cope; more than that we wish to help them find satisfaction and
happiness in their lives. Just as previous generations wanted it to be better for us, so we
must have the highest hopes for our children.
That is the big picture! As we struggle with the complexities of the new National exams
and the intricacies of curriculum change in our schools, we must remember what
ultimately Curriculum for Excellence is about: preparing our young people for the rapidly
changing world they will inherit.
It has thrilled me throughout my time as Rector to see children grow up, become young
adults, leave Webster’s and go off to make their way in the world. I thank them all, and
the parents and the staff I have worked with for so many years, for giving me such a
happy and fulfilling career. And I wish all who work in and with Webster’s in the future
every possible success in the years to come.
Eric Summers
Rector Webster’s High 1997-2014
School Captains and Prefects 2014-15
The new school captains who have been
chosen after a very rigorous selection
process are Lewis Headridge and Caitlin
Whatley. They are pictured here with
their team of vice-captains: Amy-Jo
Randalls, Grace Eadie, Danielle Mackay
and Lorcan Dyer. They have already
made a terrific start to their duties,
helping with the appointment of a new
Rector and running a disco for P7 pupils.
We wish them a very successful year. At the time of writing interviews are ongoing for
all the other prefect positions. A full list will be published next session.
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games are only
weeks away and as Glasgow makes
its final preparations, Webster's
kickstarted the excitement with its
own games. All pupils from S2 and
S3 adopted a Commonwealth
country and over 3 days competed
against each other across a number
of activities. Pupils worked
individually and in groups to learn
about the Commonwealth and their
adopted country. Using their artistic
abilities and ICT skills pupils also
created mascots, flags
New Head Teacher
The new Head Teacher of Webster’s High is
Mrs Jane Esson. She succeeds Mr Eric Summers in
August. Mrs Esson has built a very strong
reputation locally in recent years for her work as
Depute at Forfar Academy. Before that she was a
Physics teacher and then Principal Teacher in
charge of raising attainment at Arbroath Academy.
We wish her a long, happy and successful time at
Webster’s as she leads the school into the next
phase of Curriculum for Excellence.
Curriculum for Excellence – the Next Stage
Webster’s pupils along with young people across Scotland, have been sitting the new
National exams. It is difficult to predict how the results will turn out but what we can say
is that the exams turned out to be fair and impressively trouble-free. It has certainly
been a challenging year with plenty of stresses and strains along the way, but the
candidates and teachers got over the finishing line and they deserve everyone’s
congratulations. The effort put in by our SQA candidates this year has been exceptional
(the Library was full during the Easter break!) and that willingness to commit to the task
in hand – that mindset - will stand them in good stead for life, whatever passes they
achieve or fail to achieve on this occasion. And now it is on to the new Highers. Apart
from a very few exceptions Angus schools, quite rightly, are building on what has been
accomplished so far and are implementing the next stage of CfE in 2014-15. We can be
sure that the 13-14 drive to exam success will continue in 14-15.
in sporting tournaments,
knock-out competitions,
and races. Pupils
enjoyed a bbq lunch in
the sunshine before the
medal ceremony took
place.
Every country took
home a medal but it was
India who topped the
table overall! Special
thanks to the young
ambassadors.
and postcards. All pupils
experienced a range of
Commonwealth
sports from rugby to lawn
bowls.
Thanks to funding, brand
new equipment was
introduced and boxing
padwork proved very
popular! Every pupil
represented their country
Barcelona
Commonwealth Baton Carrier
Robin Baillie was selected after a searching
selection process to be a baton carrier for the
Glasgow Commonwealth Games when the relay
passes through Angus on 28 June. Robin is a
Sports Young Ambassador. That led to his
nomination and the vote which followed decided
that he would be the one to receive the honour.
He’ll be running 200 metres through the centre of
Kirriemuir at 3.56pm if everything goes to plan.
He has been given a Commonwealth tracksuit. At
the time of writing he still has to decide whether
to wear the tracksuit or a kilt.
Angus Spirit of Jubilee Adventure
At the start of June thirty-four pupils, accompanied by four members of staff, visited
th
Barcelona. Leaving at 3am on Sunday 8 June, much of the first day was spent in the
hotel recuperating from the early start and making good use of the hotel swimming
pool. Monday saw the group visiting the Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona, before
heading into the city centre to have lunch and then see examples of Gaudi’s famous
architecture, including Casa Batlló, the Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell. On Tuesday, the
group visited the Dali museum in Figueres in the morning. In the afternoon, the group
returned Barcelona to visit La Boquería market on Las Ramblas, travel by cable car to
Montjuïc and spend some time in either the Olympic swimming pool or the Miró art
museum. The group spent Wednesday in Port Aventura theme park, with all pupils and
(most) teachers making the most of the opportunity to experience rides such as Dragon
Khan and Hurakan Condor. After four full days of sunshine and searing temperatures, the
group returned home.
All pupils were a credit to the school throughout the trip and their excellent behaviour
was commented upon by passengers and crew on both flights, particularly during the
long hold on the runaway before the plane took off for home.
(A later Paris trip will be reported in the next Newsletter)
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The 3 Jubilee Spirit of Adventure walk took place on June14. All
concerned enjoyed a fantastic day. There were pupils from across
Angus who mixed well, enjoying the camaraderie of the walk which
finished at the Glen Clova Hotel. Several pupils won themselves a
Ridgway Adventure Centre Holiday including Caitlin Milne from WHS.
From Blackboard to Smartboard
Angus Book Award
The pupils in class 2C took part in the
Angus Book Award this session. They
read three books: "Heroic" by Phil
Earle, "The Night Sky In My Head" by
Sarah Hammond and "The Savages" by
Matt Whyman, the latter being a clear
favourite. While some class time was
given over to reading the books and
discussion of the plots, characters and
themes, most of the work was done at
home and the pupils engaged well
with this task, with many of them
reading all three books.
In preparation for the final ceremony,
the class spent time getting to grips
with Movie Maker and created digital
book trailers which showcased their
understanding of the central concerns
of the texts.
The visiting author was Sarah Hammond and one of the trailers for her book was
selected by the class to be shown at the ceremony. The pupils were delighted to hear
that the author requested
a copy of their trailer as
she found it impressive.
Book Award in encouraging reading for enjoyment.
The author visit was very
successful and the pupils
who attended the evening
ceremony clearly enjoyed
themselves as all
comments were positive;
some pupils even bought
signed copies of the
authors' latest novels and
were looking forward to
reading them. This
demonstrates the
importance of the Angus
I started teaching in
WHS in 1983 when
the Home Economics
Department was in a
separate building
next to the original
1837 building, which
sadly burned down.
This building had
been used as an
annex of Webster’s
Seminary since early
th
in the 20 century
and indeed as a pupil
there I must
have used some of the original equipment! It was an interesting place to work especially
in colder weather when the mice would scamper across the floor during lessons.
In 1992 the HE Department moved into the main building so my “wellies” became
(almost) redundant. For the first time the whole school could savour the sounds and
smells of HE in full swing. Finally another move to the new custom built extension so that
the Health faculty could truly work together.
During my teaching career like many before me I have seen so much change. I started
out using large blue Registers which had to be completed manually at the end of each
week – woe betide you if you made a mistake! During the intervening year I have moved
from jotters and a chalk blackboard to computers, smart boards, ipads, internet and
email. Harking back to an even earlier era there were also separate Ladies and Gents staff
rooms. Even in 1983 the school had grown beyond its capacity to house all the classes in
the building and many were taught in “temporary” huts in what was the garden ground
used by the “vocational” classes. In their day these huts housed Geography, Science, Art,
Business Studies, History, English even a fledgling IT department so it was a relief when
the building was extended.
The school today is a larger, better equipped school complex more fitting to meet the
needs of its pupils and staff where all pupils, regardless of their abilities, are truly given a
chance to meet their individual potential.
So from blackboard to smart board it has certainly been an interesting adventure.
Alison Ramsay
Webster’s High 1983-2014