North Berwick High School
Head Teacher’s Report on Session 2007-2008
Introduction
It gives me great pleasure to write this report on the work of our school in session
2007-2008. It was another year of abundant success in many fields: academic
attainment; wider achievement; community involvement; the many activities such as
sport, music, the arts; and charities.
The success of the school depends entirely on the hard work of the staff, the pupils
and the parents: the three-legged stool of success which supports all the achievements
of the school. As the following report shows, we have had another very active year,
reflecting this hard work and commitment from the whole school community.
School Roll
The school roll in September 2008 is 942, down slightly on last year but an increase
of over 200 since 1999. The roll is forecast to rise significantly over the next few
years.
Staffing
Session 2007-2008 saw a number of changes in staffing. Mr Maxwell came to us as
Principal Teacher of English, as did Mr Rutter in geography. Mrs Neri took over as
Principal Teacher of Guidance for Glen House. Mr O’Donnell was appointed as
Principal Teacher of Business Education in the spring. Mr Hewson joined the
mathematics department during Mr Stebbing’s secondment to ELIS. Mrs Fletcher left
the modern languages department during the year and Mrs Watt brought a highlysuccessful spell as Principal Teacher of Modern Languages to a close when she left at
the end of the session.
As has been the custom for a number of years, we had newly qualified teachers
joining us as probationers. Dr Mack in chemistry, Ms Sibbald in mathematics, Ms
Brand and Mr Muir in English, Mr McIlwaine in geography, Ms Wood in PE and Ms
Jegat and Ms Ritchie in modern languages made a large contribution to the work and
life of the school and Dr Mack and Ms Ritchie were appointed to the permanent staff
at the end of the session.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff for their unending drive to
raise standards and develop our young people. I would like to pay thanks to the
wonderful team of administration and auxiliary staff who support our pupils in so
many ways and whose expertise is unrivalled.
Special mention must be made of Dr Thomson, who retired after twenty-seven years’
service as principal teacher of biology. Under Dr Thomson’s leadership, biology at
NBHS enjoys a national reputation, and rightly so. Most of all, however, he is a
fantastic teacher who has inspired generations of pupils throughout his time at the
school. I hope that he has a happy and enjoyable retirement.
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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Learning and Teaching
As always, the curriculum, and the teaching and learning which arise from it, is the
core of the work of the school.
In S5/6, the school continued to increase its provision of National Award courses,
with Advanced Higher modern studies and business management and Higher
psychology being offered for the first time.
The school has been continuing to review its teaching and learning strategies to try to
ensure that all pupils are fully engaged in the work of the class – one way we have
done this is by recognising that children learn in different ways and we should offer a
variety of teaching and learning styles. We have also developed a wide range of self
and peer assessment in the classroom and will be developing this further. We are
steadily introducing more enterprising activities into the classroom. In addition, every
year group has had at least one full day of enterprise activities.
We installed Promethean whiteboards in almost every classroom, which allows
interactive teaching and learning to take place in highly innovative ways. We also
developed our range of IT equipment with the purchase of extra activote systems and
‘classrooms in a box’.
We developed our school website over the course of the session and launched the
revised site www.northberwickhigh.net at the end of term. We hope that it will
become a vibrant and interactive site, with news, articles of interest and pupil work
and homework.
We trialled some pioneering IT software – Eye Gaze, which enables a student to use
their eyes to coordinate and manipulate the use of a computer screen. This has been
very successful and has extended the curriculum on offer. Just after Christmas the
modern languages blog was launched to add to the school’s range of self-study
resources for pupils. The history department also moved into the modern age by
introducing podcasts into the S1 and S4 courses, with groups interviewing each other
and also devising revision materials.
The health promotion profile of the school continues to grow, with a number of
initiatives undertaken during the session. In particular, we had a never-to-be-forgotten
Slow Food Lunch in September, at which nearly 900 pupils and adults sat down to a
superb three-course lunch over two sittings. Our Hospitality pupils assisted local
professional chefs using local produce. This was a wonderful example of everyone
working together to have a memorable lunch and, perhaps more importantly, a real
sense of us all being very much together as a community.
A group of committed S6 students developed citizenship in the school by presenting
assemblies on Peace One Day and Remembrance, together with moving artwork.
They also ran a Current Affairs discussion group and participated in Holocaust
Memorial Day, together with organising the S2 Mock Election. The group was
awarded with the school’s first-ever Citizenship Badges.
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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We started an eco-school group during the session with the aim of developing the
school as an eco-friendly establishment, including minimising waste and tackling
litter. In association with this, Sam Cusworth and Stacy Sibley were interviewed by
STV for a programme linked to the plastic-bag free project in North Berwick. We
shall shortly be awarded Silver status and aim for our Green Flag by 2011 – a
challenging target.
The school celebrated European Day of Languages in September by teaching a
number of S2 and S3 pupils British Sign Language, ably led by Mick Burns, our
Careers Advisor. We developed links with schools in France and Germany through
email. We also held another International Week in May and a number of interesting
events took place. Following a visit to a school in Malawi by Mrs Lowe, we
developed links by arranging to send a scrapbook from the school. We hope to
develop our international links further with the aim of gaining an International Award.
The school continued to develop its enterprise events, with a visit from a Human
Resources Director, various yeargroup events and our Christmas Delights enterprise
company which made attractive high-quality hampers. S6 participated in business
experience and business dynamics events and also assisted at the North Berwick
Nursery Sports Day and Aberlady School Sports Day.
A Primary Seven Enterprise Event took place in February. This was the first
opportunity for all the primary sevens from our partner primaries to meet and was
greatly enjoyed by all. A group of S3 were the facilitators for the day.
Supporting Pupils
As part of our drive constantly to improve our work with the pupils, we conducted a
number of changes at the front of the school. We moved the staff bases and upgraded
the support bases, together with two classrooms for PSE use. We also developed a
new conference room on the ground floor, decorated beautifully by a group of pupils.
Pupils in the support base started and developed a project on Fair Trade, researching
what it means, visiting shops and then setting up an ordering system so that staff
could purchase products such as tea, coffee and Christmas gifts. The pupils also had a
series of monthly themes, such as Robert Burns, Valentine’s Day, Marie Curie and
Easter. A group also attended the SDS Cross Country Athletics at Peffermill.
The Houses continued to develop as focal points of the school. Away days were held
for all S1 classes in their Houses. Our Houses also continued to ‘adopt’ children in
other countries, raising funds through a variety of activities and making regular
contributions to their education. A particular feature was the involvement and
leadership of pupils of all ages in house assemblies.
Our House events continued to go from strength to strength. Fidra held an art
exhibition, with paintings, drawings, craftwork and costume design. There were
interactive events such as caricatures and face painting. Law House held a carnival,
complete with Bouncy Castle and many other fun events such as coconut shy, treasure
hunt and fortune telling. Law also put on a memorable Christmas pantomime – Jack
and the Beanstalk. Craig House had ‘North Berwick’s Got Talent’, a variety show
with singing, dancing, acting and other performances. Glen put on ‘Stars in their
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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Eyes’, again being highly successful in filling the hall and raising lots of money for
worthy causes.
The Houses were led by the House Captains and Vice Captains, who were:
Craig
Kelsey Stewart, James Gbbons, Rose Campbell and Chris Lekkas
Fidra
Josh Bain, Liz Warne, Callum Murdoch and Lucy Robertson
Glen
Lynsey Walker, Sam Cusworth, Johanna Mercer and Ross Caithness
Law
Graeme Fairgrieve, Rebecca Greig, Conor Gaffney and Stephanie
Lawrence
The Head Boy and Head Girl and their deputes were able leaders of the school. The
leadership team of Niall Grant, Jane MacCallum, Donald Waters and Rebecca Ross
led the school in different activities and proved to be very good role models for our
pupils. The latter three did exceptionally well given that Niall was so frequently out of
school because of his work nationally and internationally with the Hunter Foundation.
We held two major prizegiving ceremonies. In June, we held special assemblies for
S1, S2 and S3. Pupils were awarded certificates in specific subjects on the basis of
academic success or of having made significant progress over the course of the year.
These assemblies were attended by large numbers of parents, who were treated to
stunning musical pieces and superb speeches from our Head Boy and Girl, whose
remarks were inspirational, speaking of the need to aim high, to take advantage of the
many opportunities available and to set goals for work and for life. The art department
provided beautiful stage decorations for these events.
In September we had our annual senior prizegiving ceremony. Ewan Henderson and
Isobel Barrie, recently-retired heads of English and geography, were guests of honour.
Speeches and excellent musical pieces were followed by academic prizes for each
subject at Standard Grade, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced Higher levels.
Certificates of Merit were presented to students who had gained six, seven or eight
Level 1 passes at S Grade, together with S5 students who had attained at least ten
points in their Higher Grades. Quaichs were presented to former S6 students for
Service to the School (Andrew Goldie), Service to the Community (Liz Duncanson),
Service to Music (Julia Boon) and Service to Sport (Callum Cockburn and Dougie
Orr). Glen House won the Rotary Prize for being House Champions. The climax of
the evening was the awarding of the Dux Medals to our joint winners Robert Hanson
and Rebecca Knight.
SQA Results
The school’s results for 2008 continued our strong tradition of academic excellence.
A very high 58% of our Fourth Year gained five or more awards at Level 5 (Credit).
Very pleasingly, 87% gained five or more at Level 4 (Credit and General / Int 1) and
95% gained five or more awards at Level 3. What these results do not show is the
sterling work done by our pupils with exceptional needs in S4, who gained a number
of awards which unfortunately do not show on the nationally published statistics. In
S5, 22% of the original S4 yeargroup gained five Highers, with eleven students
gaining five A awards, one of them with top grades in all awards. 44% of the original
S4 yeargroup gained three or more Highers - the Higher Education ‘benchmark’ - and
a record 66% gained at least one Higher. In S6, 31% of the original S4 yeargroup
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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gained at least one Advanced Higher. Very pleasingly, S6 awards complement S5
awards at Higher level in particular, meaning that a large number of students leave
school after S6 with five or more Highers.
These results are the amalgamation of individual results in individual subjects of
individual pupils. They paint a clear picture of strength for which everyone can feel
justifiable pride.
Activities and Achievements
I now come to a section in which I shall try to indicate the breadth and depth of our
achievements in session 2007-2008.
Competitions and Awards
We enjoyed success in a number of competitions and won many awards.
S3 students took part in the Stock Market Challenge in Edinburgh. Twenty-five
schools competed in the competition and our team performed very well, working
together to make the most of their £15000 investment and ending the day with
£74300. They finished second in the event. The team members were Chris Gibb,
James Lahaise, Jordan Moffat, Seb Mann and Fraser Scott.
A group of S1 pupils were involved in a Europe-wide competition aimed at raising the
awareness of discrimination in Europe. They produced a set of posters as part of this
work.
Emma Aitken, Zoe Moskal Guy and Joanna Casson were selected for the National
Girls’ Choir of Scotland. Alister Mackenzie was chosen for the National Boys’ Choir
of Scotland. Emma Aitken and Polly Waters were selected for the National Children’s
Orchestra of Scotland, with Joanna Casson being selected for the training orchestra,
and Alexander Casson was chosen for the Edinburgh Youth Orchestra.
Kari Spence and Hannah Tennant took part in the Young Scot awards in Glasgow.
Teams participated in three Enterprising Mathematics competitions, the first of which
was a National final.
The school participated in the UK Mathematical Trust Mathematical Challenge
competitions, set at three levels. The school gained eleven gold awards, twenty silver
and forty-nine bronze.
In May, NBHS was chosen as the venue for a special award ceremony – the AntiBullying East Lothian (ABEL) Ethos Awards. These awards are given to students
from schools who have ‘gone the extra mile’ to help their fellow pupils in school. We
were delighted that the winner of the top award was Stacy Sibley in S6.
In September, a group of pupils from NBHS – Kirsty Girvan, Alison Fleming, Claire
Coll and Lorna Evans - were part of the Muirfield Riding for the Disabled Group
which won the National Musical Ride competition for RDA groups.
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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As part of the town’s Beautiful Scotland (formerly Scotland in Bloom) competitionwinning effort, Emily Barber, Amy Nicholson, Alison Wright, Lucy Gibbons and
Emma Finlayson, all of S1, came to the Town House and the Seabird Centre to
address the national judges, speaking of their gardening and other voluntary work to
great effect and playing a crucial role in the town receiving its awards.
Lucy Gibbons won a signed copy of Theresa Breslin’s novel Medici Seal. She won
this for her eloquently-written review of Theresa’s entertaining talk which her class
had attended earlier in the year.
In the East Lothian Schools’ Outdoor Challenge, two teams of S4 boys represented
NBHS at the East Lothian S4 Outdoor Challenge. This year the event was held at
John Muir Country Park in Dunbar. The teams had to complete a number of different
challenges that tested their teamwork, navigation, observation and survival skills.
After fire-starting, rope bridge building, sailing, orienteering and river-crossing the
NBHS teams finished in first and second places – the first time that one school has
ever finished in the top two spots. Well done to both teams!
Helen Hiley passed her Grade 7 on alto sax, while Bethany Gascoigne gained a Merit
at Grade 8 in percussion.
Kirsty Hawes and Stuart Lowe were selected for the Rotary Young Leader Award.
Lara Wauchope was chosen for the Youth Musical Theatre UK residential course.
Clubs and Societies
The school continues to run an impressive series of clubs and societies.
The new Music Matters Club is run by pupils for music fans wanting to find out more
about different styles of music (including folk, rock and country), bands and
musicians of all ages.
We started a Scripture Union group, which met regularly. One of the highlights was
the production of a film, with all stages completed by the pupils, of a version of the
Christmas Story for modern times. This film was entered into a national competition.
We also had a myriad of clubs, including: book club; chess; jewellery-making;
homework; lunch club; knitting and crochet; languages; newspaper; paired reading;
young engineers; badminton; junior and also senior dance; kung fu; netball; quick fit;
rock climbing.
Visits and events
A group of S1 and S2 pupils planned, prepared and performed a play for the P7
induction days. This work lasted for several months and culminated in a wonderful
performance of ‘I C U’ to the P7s and also to parents. The performance was thoughtprovoking and very touching and portrayed its message superbly.
We had a number of school day trips, such as those to the Museum on the Mound,
Glenkinchie distillery, fieldwork in Edinburgh, Belhaven Brewery, Excellence in Art
& Design, the German Market, the National Galleries of Scotland and the Higher
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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modern studies event. Our Advanced higher modern studies class was even sent to jail
when they visited Shotts Prison!
Liaison with the ELC Museums Service allowed the history department to introduce
the idea of opening an interactive museum at the end of the S1 Vikings Unit. Classes
devised, created and presented their exhibitions from scratch.
We commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day in January. We held a series of
workshops with the theme of Remember, Reflect, React, using drama, discussion (eg
on discrimination), and a film illustrating ‘Show Racism the Red Card’. Finally,
pupils and staff gathered in the Hall for a powerpoint presentation on the Holocaust
which had been produced by the pupils and the day concluded with a toast to promise
to remember and not to let it happen again.
S4 pupils competed in class to prepare a set recipe and one of their own choice for the
East Lothian Food Festival. The winners represented NBHS in the main competition,
which was a thoroughly enjoyable event.
Donald Waters, Aidan Cragg, Sam Cusworth and Lucy Robertson played key roles in
organising the North Berwick Community Centre’s Christmas Fair, together with
many S6 who sang at the event.
On a cold day in February, the school was brightened up by a visit from Ronnie
Corbett and his wife Anne. They joined S5 and S6 for PSE. The session started off
with a very polished ‘Parkinson-style’ interview by Mrs McCormack and then Ronnie
spoke more generally, finishing off with a trademark joke. Everyone left the hall in
high spirits, having spent the time in the company of such a lovely and funny couple:
a wonderful antidote for cynicism!
As part of the restoration of the Lodge grounds, a team of Advanced Higher physics
students set up the sundial accurately.
Many of our students helped to organise the North Berwick Twinning Association
ceilidh for Danish visitors in the school.
Two S1 classes took part in a multi-disciplinary project, in collaboration with the
Seabird Centre and all cluster Primary 3 classes. Geography lessons were transformed
into film studios in which the pupils made a series of animations. They looked at the
migration and life cycle of the Arctic Tern in the context of global warming and
pollution. It all culminated in the world premiere of the film to P3/S1 classes and to
parents in the evening.
In late May, our Head Teachers’ Board in the Hall Foyer was dedicated. Funds were
provided by Mrs Morrison, widow of a previous head teacher. The board has been
made by Callum Craig and complements the existing boards beautifully. It is a fitting
addition to the heritage of the school.
We welcomed visitors from Denmark, Sweden and our Senior Chief Inspector of
Schools, all of whom were thoroughly impressed by the school and the pupils’ work.
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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All of S1 visited the Christmas pantomime at the Brunton Theatre and had a
boisterous and highly enjoyable time.
We held our first Secret Number day, in which clues were put up at various points
around the school and pupils had to work out what they were.
We had a theatre trip to visit The Winter’s Tale.
Liz Niven of the Scottish Poetry Library held a poetry workshop for Advanced Higher
English students. Philippa Tomlin of the Royal Lyceum Theatre held a drama
workshop on the plays of Arthur Miller and on Shakespeare.
An exhibition of textiles and papier mache bowls from S3 art classes was put on
display at the Scottish Seabird Centre. This proved to be one of the most popular
displays of pupil work ever exhibited at the Seabird Centre.
S3 pupils have created sculptures on the theme of St Baldred. One will be selected
and scaled up, eventually to be installed in St Baldred’s Church. The pupils all
produced beautiful designs for this sculpture.
Three of our S5 students were invited to participate at Edinburgh College of Art’s
Summer School, where they took part in a series of workshops during the week-long
course. Jasmin Limbaugh, Millie Scott and Fiona Roper were chosen. They
thoroughly enjoyed their experience and had their work put on display at the end of
the course.
An enthusiastic group of S3 modern studies pupils enjoyed a guided tour of the
Parliament building, with the highlight being a very heated discussion in the Debating
Chamber!
Lucy Edmans, Euan Kerr, Rachel Nelson and Alasdair Wilson took part in the Space
School at the University of Edinburgh.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
The Award remains popular, with 28 pupils participating at Silver level and 25
enthusiastic members at Gold. Silver and Gold final hikes were completed
successfully after a carry over due to the bad weather in 2007. The Silver assessed
hikes have again been rescheduled to September – they say it is to become drier!
Four pupils gained their full Gold Award this year and presentations were made to
Jonathan Phillips in St James’ Palace, while Linzi Anderson, Matt Brown (Award
gained in 2007) and Jamie Ross were presented at Holyrood this July. Silvers were
awarded to Aidan Cragg, Sam Cusworth, James Gibbons, Helen Hiley, Minnie
Knight, Becky Knight, Stef Lawrence, Matthew Lowe, Lucy Robertson, Stacy Sibley,
Kelsey Stewart and Donald Waters
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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John Muir Award
Every First Year pupil achieved a John Muir Discovery Award. As part of their S1
PSE programme, under the umbrella of citizenship, all S1 pupils went out into the
community to help enhance their local environment and encourage wildlife to thrive
in it. Groups went to the Abbey Nursing Home garden, the Lodge Grounds and the
Sports Centre grounds. Underpinning this project is a desire to nurture a lifelong
‘environmental conscience’ and to ensure that the whole community will benefit from
the young people’s considerable endeavours.
Music
After an absence of three years, a musical production was held in March: Back to the
Eighties enthralled audiences on three nights. The show was, as advertised, ‘totally
awesome’, reflecting the gruelling rehearsals, set and costume design. The huge
ensemble cast of singers and dancers, supported by a wonderful band, produced a
magnificent spectacle which was utterly uplifting. Thanks go to Mrs Hood and her
team for an outstanding achievement.
We had our second Music Camp in Biggar in October. Pupils and staff had a
wonderful three days of music and other activities, including the highlight of the endof-camp ceilidh.
In October, we were also privileged to have Seby Ntege, whose previous
accomplishments included performing for the Queen at Westminster Abbey, lead the
senior and junior dance groups in an African Dance Workshop. This was a memorable
experience for everyone. He then went on to work with the pupils at the music camp.
Eleven S1 pupils took part in a Garageband music making project. So successful was
it that the school bought a suite of PCs to develop it further!
Sergei Desmond was with us as a singing instructor one afternoon per week,
enhancing our provision greatly.
Callum Devine, Fraser Fulton, Bess MacArthur and Polly Waters gave a guitar
performance to Law Primary. Our Brass Band performed at a variety of our partner
primary schools and our guitar group sang carols in the foyer at Tesco.
The school had a large contingent at the East Lothian Showcase concert in
Musselburgh, being involved in all groups.
Our concerts continue to set new standards of excellence. The Christmas concerts
were their usual success, with a variety and scale of performance illustrating
graphically the depth of talent and ethos of achievement within the department and
indeed the school. Our Spring Concert focused more on individual pieces. Many of
the superb performances were of the students’ own compositions.
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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Sport
We had a number of sporting highlights, both in teams and individually.
This year we were lucky enough to work with Edinburgh University on an Alternative
PE Programme for some of our pupils with additional needs. Pupils took part in a
number of activities (swimming, gymnastics, ball games, dance) with pupils from
different schools. It was a great experience which our pupils thoroughly enjoyed. We
hope to continue our relationship with Edinburgh University and develop our links
with them.
In rugby, Kirsty Crawford and Megan Gaffney were selected for the Scotland U18
Women’s Rugby Team. Alun Walker was selected for the Scotland U18 Rugby Team.
NBHS U15 and U18 rugby teams progressed to the quarter finals of the Bell Lawrie
Scottish Schools Cup. The Girls’ Rugby Team entered the Scottish Cup for the first
time and were runners up in the National 7s Tournament – a phenomenal achievement
given that they only played their first game in December! They also set up a superb
website.
The school was invited to go to Florence to represent Scotland in an international
rugby tournament at Easter. A large squad performed very well, finishing fourth and
gaining plaudits for their comportment. A team also had a short tour to Dumfries.
In hockey, the S1 team won the East Lothian Hockey Championships. Millie Scott,
Anna Seago, Pamela Tait and Ashley Nicholson were all selected for the East Under
16 squad and Anna for the Under 16 Scotland Hockey Training Squad. Eleven of our
pupils made up the bulk of the Under 16 East Lothian hockey development squad tour
to Liverpool in October.
In basketball, the U15 Boys Team entered the Scottish Schools Basketball Cup for the
first time and made it to the quarter finals – a great achievement. Grant and Ally
Mackay both represented Scotland at basketball.
In football, Andrew Jones was selected for the Under 15 East and Midlothian team.
The S2, S3 and senior boys teams contributed to an eventful season in their respective
league and cup competitions. The S3 team battled all the way to the last 32 of the
Scottish Schools Cup, while a special mention goes to the S1 boys who performed
superbly in the S2 league last season.
In volleyball, Jamie McHardy represented Scotland and took part in the UK Olympic
Volleyball games.
In sailing, Douglas Imrie was the International Hydrofoil British Champion 2007 and
Kenneth Laing and Euan Lyall were part of the RYA Scottish Laser Squad 2007.
Kenneth and his sailing partner became the RS400 Scottish National Champions.
Douglas Imrie became the Junior National Moth Champion.
In swimming, Dan Wallace is a member of the Scottish Swimming Team 2008.
Lawrence Mann, Dan Wallace, Cameron Smith and Murray Lawrence all participated
in the Scottish Swimming Championships. Ross Caithness, Mhairi Johnston, Cameron
Smith and Amber Whitelaw all attended the Warm Weather Training camp in
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Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
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Barcelona. Kirsty Henderson represented the Lothian team at the SDS National
Swimming Gala.
In golf, eight NBHS pupils took part in the East Lothian qualifying event for the
Scottish Schools Golf Championship. Oliver Huish finished in first place, going
forward to the Scottish Schools Championships.
In table tennis, Iain Shand and Rowan Campbell competed in the Edinburgh Schools
Table Tennis qualifying event. They were very successful, achieving gold and bronze
medals. They qualified for the Scottish Table Tennis Championships.
In athletics, in the Scottish Schools Athletics Track and Field Championships Anna
Seago was winner in the U17 Girls’ Javelin, second in the U17 Girls’ Long Jump and
third in the U17 Girls’ Shot Putt. Megan Gaffney was second in the U17 Girls’ 300m
hurdles and went on to represent Scotland in the Schools’ Home International Track
and Field Match.
In squash, Ian Jubb was Under 17 Scottish Champion
In the East Lothian Youth Games, NBHS were winners of East Lothian Youth
Games for the third year in a row – a magnificent achievement. Particular praise goes
to the S1 girls’ hockey team, S1 boys’ rugby team, S1 boys’ volleyball team, S2 girls’
basketball team and S2 boys’ basketball team, who all won their events.
In surfing, new for this year, we ran a block of surfing lessons for pupils in S1-S3.
Ten pupils took part for a three-week block of lessons where they learned water safety
and the basics of surfing.
In another new development, we formed a mountain bike club. A fleet of bikes and
equipment was purchased with the help of a grant from the National Lottery’s Awards
for All scheme. Several trips were undertaken in the local area – we hope to see the
expansion of our activities with trips further afield in the future.
End of Term Events
Our end of term events again were highlights of the year.
The art department provided the stage decoration for the Christmas Concert and
dances, together with further enhancing our art work throughout the school.
We held a senior citizens’ party prior to Christmas, giving a large group a concert and
afternoon tea, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
The Christmas Dances were a huge success, with the dances taking place over five
evenings, a feat of which few schools could boast. The hall was filled with young
people every night as they performed their Scottish Country dances.
We finished the Christmas term off with our traditional singalong in the Sports
Centre. This is one of the few occasions in the year when the whole school can meet
as one. It was a fine end to the term, as we gathered to take part in community
singing.
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Head Teacher’s Report
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Charities
The school continues its proud tradition of supporting various charitable causes. The
Charities Committee organised various events which raised nearly £6000. Our two
main charities were RNLI in North Berwick and Shelter.
The money was raised through gigs, our ‘walk a mile’ morning, quiz night, bake sales
and dress-down days. We supported other causes such as Children in Need, RDA,
MacMillan Cancer Care and Eating Disorders.
Outdoor Activities and Excursions
Our annual Activities Week continues to grow and now involves all pupils from S1 to
S3 in a variety of events and activities. During that week, we had inter-house sports, a
treasure hunt and outdoor challenge, the S2 coastal walk from Aberlady to North
Berwick, a variety of day activities for S3, a trip to the battlefields of France and
Belgium, to Berlin to see the former divided city, canoeing in the Ardeche, a trip to
London, a golf trip to Devon and an outward bound trip to Rothiemurchus.
A group of 15 pupils with specific needs had an exciting weekend trip to Benmore in
April, taking part in various activities and challenges.
Our S2 had another excellent week of skiing in Italy in January, when a party of over
a hundred pupils and staff spent a particularly pleasant and successful trip, both on the
ski slopes and off them! This annual event, in the shadows of Mont Blanc, is very
much a tradition in the school and is eagerly anticipated by every new S2 group.
The Higher geography group had another highly successful field trip to the Alps in
June, enjoying glorious weather and being a fantastic group, not even complaining
when their bus broke down!
S4 history students travelled to Beamish Open Air Museum, visiting various sites
including the old mine, farm, living quarters of the workers and the gentry and the
shops, including seeing first hand the living and working conditions of people not so
long ago.
Seventeen S4 and S5 pupils enjoyed the sights and sounds of New York during their
modern studies excursion in June. The Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty,
and the United Nations building featured among the many highlights.
An expedition to Borneo has been arranged in 2009 and a team has been formed with
nine pupils from S5 and S6. The team have been busy planning their itinerary and
fund raising for the month-long expedition, in which the group will experience jungle
life, work with a local community replanting trees after fire devastation to the forest
and hope to help to teach English to village children. They will also plan and carry
out a 5-day hike in the jungle/hills. The trip will culminate with a visit to the orangutan rehabilitation centre and some snorkelling in the warm seas!
North Berwick High School
Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
Page 12 of 13
Parental Involvement
Parental involvement continues to be a major strength of the school. Events such as
Consultation or Information Evenings are extremely well supported and the newlyinstalled Parent Council, taking over from the School Board, played a prominent role
in the school. We had strong representation from our parents in many of our school
working groups.
A revitalised PTA continues to support the school by holding fund raising events such
as the Quiz Night and, for the first time, a wine-tasting evening. They also performed
a welcome service for all parents in providing teas at the parents’ evenings! Last year,
£4000 was given to the school, which allowed us to purchase our high quality
homework diaries, together with providing funds for all departments and extra
equipment for our pupil support base.
A major event, as always, was the school PTA Burns Supper and Ceilidh, with
excellent contributions from the main speakers Donald Waters, Niall Grant and
Hannah Melville. Indeed, Donald’s Immortal Memory was perhaps the finest toast to
the Bard I have ever heard.
The North Berwick Burns Club’s 109th Anniversary Dinner, held in a packed Marine
Hotel, had as usual a major input from the school. The quality of the performances
was remarked upon by all who were present, with Niall and Hannah repeating their
toasts of the previous week in the school to great acclaim. Pupils were also
represented in the Opera East group of entertainers.
I would also like to thank the parents who support the many events in the school,
allowing money to be raised for school funds. These funds give us the ability to
support outings and events for all children, including in particular those most needy
members of our school community.
Conclusion
Out of such bounty, what was the highlight? The school show was a delight; the S1/2
drama group produced a memorable and moving performance; our results were
tremendous; our sporting achievements superb to name but a few. However, my
choice as the highlight of the year occurred early in the session: the Slow Food lunch.
It was a wonderful example of everyone working together to think of the idea, plan
the event, take on board everything even when its scale was daunting and then finally
for it all to come together. There has seldom if ever been an occasion in which
virtually the whole school has taken part in anything remotely as ambitious as this,
and it was carried off with great aplomb.
In conclusion, I commend this report to its readers and look forward to another
successful year.
C T Sutherland
Head Teacher
4th September 2008
North Berwick High School
Session 2007-2008
Head Teacher’s Report
Page 13 of 13